Avatar: The Last Airbender (Book One Water)
by KayleyK1472
Summary: This is my own spin on the popular tv series Avatar: The Last Airbender. I own NOTHING aside from the names and small changes I have made to the tale and all credit goes to the wirters and creators of this wonderful story. Everyone who has read the series I have written has loved them and I hope you all will feel the same so enjoy!
1. Prologue

Prologue:

Kole:

Water...Earth...Fire...Air...  
My grandmother used to tell me stories about the old days, a time of peace when the Avatar kept balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads. But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked.  
Only the Avatar mastered all four elements. Only he could stop the ruthless firebenders. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.  
A hundred years have passed and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the war. Two years ago, my father and the men of my tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Fire Nation, leaving me and my brother to look after our tribe.  
Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads and that the cycle is broken, but I haven't lost hope. I still believe that somehow the Avatar will return to save the world.


	2. Chapter 1: The Girl in the Iceberg

Kole:

We were floating in a two person canoe in iceberg laden waters. My companion next to me was my year older sister, Alana. She was a pretty girl with long dark brown hair, clear blue eyes, and tall and slender. It was just too bad she was such a pain in my butt ninety percent of the time.  
I looked a lot like my sister. I had dark hair as well and my head was shaven except for a pony tail that was a trademark style in my tribe. My eyes were a dark deep blue color. Years of hunting and taking care of the tribe had hardened my muscles and made me strong. I took a small bit of pride in being a head taller than my sister, but she was so crabby all the time I usually felt like I was only an inch tall.  
I turned slightly to look at Alana. She was staring intently at the water, spear at the ready as she watched a fish swimming around down there. The canoe drifted slowly between icebergs as she concentrated on fishing, which was not at all appropriate for women to do in a tribe. Men did the hunting and the women did the housework. That was just the way it was.  
Alana didn't think so. Since she was eighteen, a year older than I was, and she thought all the work around the village was her responsibility alone. It drove me nuts.  
"It's not getting away from me this time. Watch and learn, Kole. This is how you catch a fish," Alana taunted.  
I rolled my eyes and leaned over the edge of the canoe to see a fish swimming there. Hesitantly, I removed my glove and took a deep breath, picturing water, its calmness. With a feeling of trepidation, I began to motion with my exposed hand. Suddenly, a globe of water containing the fish burst out of the water.  
"Alana, look!" I gasped.  
"Shhh. Kole, you're gonna scare it away. Mmmm...I can already smell it cookin'!" she whisper hissed at me.  
"But Alana! I caught one!" I said, excited as I tried to retain control of the water globe.  
I struggled with the blob of water and it floated closer to Alana. She raised the spear just then, preparing to strike the fish. While coking her arm back, she accidentally made the bubble of water burst. The fish fell back into the sea and Alana ended up drenched as the water came crashing down on her.  
"Hey!" I exclaimed, irritated. I finally did something right and she had to go and ruin it. Typical.  
"Ugh! Why is it that every time you play with magic water I get soaked?" she said in an extremely exasperated voice.  
"It's not magic. It's waterbending, and it's-"  
"Yeah, yeah, an ancient art unique to our culture, blah blah blah. Look, I'm just saying that if I had weird powers, I'd keep my weirdness to myself." she said, board.  
"You're calling me weird? I'm not the one who smiles at myself every time I see my reflection in the water," I teased.  
I turned to look at her, catching her just as she was grinning at herself again. With my last comment, she turned to me and gave me an annoyed look, pursing her lips.  
Suddenly, something bumped the boat and we both looked up in alarm. My breath caught in my throat when I realized we had drifted into an extremely ice packed area. Alana began to work frantically to maneuver the canoe between the icebergs while I shouted orders at her. If she wouldn't let me steer, the least I could do was be her spotter.  
"Ahhh!" we cried out at the same time as we were jerked around.  
"Watch out! Go left! Go left!" I yelled at her.  
The canoe threaded its way through the ice pack. Icebergs were colliding all around us. We manage to avoid getting crushed between the colliding icebergs, but our safety margins decreased rapidly each time. Finally the canoe was crushed when three icebergs collided at once. We jumped out in time onto one of the icebergs. We were now at the mercy of the currents.  
"You call that left?" I asked her sarcastically.  
"You don't like my steering. Well, maybe you should have waterbent us out of the ice," she said, voice thick with sarcasm.  
We were completely out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothing but freezing cold water and ice. Behind us was a huge towering iceberg that shot up into the sky.  
"So it's my fault?" I asked her disbelief.  
"I knew I should have left you home. Leave it to a boy to screw things up."  
My anger boiled over and I pointed and accusing finger at my sister. "You are the most sexist, immature, nut brained…"  
As I got more excited, the iceberg on which we were sitting began to heave. Behind me I heard an enormous crack, but I was too irritated to take any notice.  
"Ugh, I'm embarrassed to be related to you! Ever since Mom died I've been doing all the work around camp while you've been off playing soldier!"  
"Uh...Kole?" she said, her voice high and squeaky with fear.  
"I even wash all the clothes! Have you ever smelled your dirty socks? Let me tell you, NOT PLEASANT!" I shouted.  
"Kole! Settle down!" Alana shouted at me.  
"No, that's it. I'm done helping you. From now on, you're on your own!" I said, screaming as loud as I could at her.  
I turned away from her just as I finished ranting, and watched in terror as the iceberg behind us split open entirely. It disintegrated and the major pieces fell into the water, pushing our iceberg away. We held on desperately until the iceberg settled once more.  
"Okay, you've gone from weird to freakish, Kole."  
"You mean I did that?"  
"Yup. Congratulations." she said sarcastically.  
We both were leaning over the edge of the iceberg raft when, suddenly, the water just in front of us began to glow an incandescent blue. We move backwards on our raft as another, lighter colored iceberg broke the surface. I wasn't sure whether this was part of the one I broke up or not. As the new iceberg settled, I walked to edge of the iceberg raft to get a better look. As I looked, I saw deep in the ice the figure of a beautiful girl in a meditation pose.  
She had white arrows on her fists and on her forehead, just peaking out from underneath her long dark hair. Her face was pale, her skin a soft Irary color, looking almost translucent. She looked tall and incredibly slender.  
Suddenly, her eyes and her arrow markings glowed white.  
"She's alive! We have to help."  
I grabbed Alana's hockey stick type spear, pulled down my hood and turned to go to the girl.  
"Kole! Get back here! We don't know what that thing is!"  
I ignored her and skipped across a few little icebergs to arrive at the one the girl was trapped in. Alana followed closely behind me, annoyed with my lack of caution.  
I began to use the hockey stick to whack the ice. After a few big whacks, it finally cracked open. It looked like air was released, as if the iceberg had a hollow chamber within it…  
The iceberg then cracked from top to bottom and exploded open and a huge shaft of white blue light shot straight into the heavens.

Ren:

We were sailing on an iron hulled battleship with a spiked prow, cutting through the sea. It was steam powered as it had a single smokestack. The foredeck was much longer than the afterdeck. The bridge appeared to be several decks above the main deck. It was not much of a ship, but I had been calling it my home for some time now. I stood on the foredeck dressed in red, in the armor of my nation. I peered in the water below me and saw my reflection looking back at me. I had a shaven-head except for a pony-tail and the left side of my face was badly scarred around my left eye.  
I was Prince Ren, the now nineteen-year-old banished prince of the Fire Nation. I was a prince that people feared, a prince with blood that ran like ice through his veins. I was the kind of prince who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted, even if it meant taking innocent lives in the process.  
I was looking out over the sea when suddenly, a beam of white blue light shot into the sky, just a little ways off, blinding me for a second. I stared intently at the shaft of light in front of the ship, not believing it to be true.  
"Finally," I said smugly. I turned to address my uncle. "Uncle, do you realize what this means?"  
Uncle Ira was an old man, about seventy-six, fat, with a big bushy grey hair and beard and golden colored eyes. He was the laziest man alive, and also the weakest, in my opinion. He absolutely disgusted me but I was stuck with him since he was the only firebending teacher I had now, so I just dealt with him.  
He was seated cross legged at a low table, drinking tea and playing a game involving domino like objects.  
"I won't get to finish my game?" he asked me in disappointment.  
I ignored that. "It means my search - it's about to come to an end."  
He groaned loudly.  
I turned on him, irritated now. "That light came from an incredibly powerful source. It has to be him!"  
"Or it's just the celestial lights. We've been down this road before, Prince Ren. I don't want you to get too excited over nothing. Please, sit. Why don't you enjoy a cup of calming jasmine tea?"  
"I don't need any calming tea!" I exploded in anger. "I need to capture the Avatar."  
The Avatar was the only thing that would allow me to come home, the only thing that would restore things back to normal and give me back my throne.  
"Helmsman, head a course for the light!" I shouted up at him, and continued staring at the beam of light.

Kole:

I was still shielding my sister from the blast that just dissipated. We looked up to see residual blue light still swirling around the top of what was left of the exploded iceberg.  
Suddenly, the girl I had seen appeared at the top edge of the iceberg, her eyes and arrow markings still aglow, her long mahogany brown hair blowing lightly around her pretty face.  
Alana raised her spear at the girl.  
"Stop!" Alana yelled.

The girl stood up as the glow and residual energy faded. She seemed to pass out and she slid down the side of the ruined iceberg toward Alana and I. I lunged forward and caught her as she fell and found that she was surprisingly very light. Alana came over and started rudely poking the girl in the head with the blunt end of her weapon.  
"Stop it!" I snapped at her.  
I gave Alana the heisman and turned to the girl. I gently turned her over so that she was lying on her back.  
She began to wake up, slowly opening her eyes which were a startling grey - grey as a wolf's coat or like pale smoke - with small bits of pale blue in them. A breeze gently stirred her thick long hair. She had a gorgeously shaped face that was incredibly soft and beautiful, graceful and elegant somehow. Her skin was a light olive tone that was smooth and perfectly clear. She was thin but toned and fairly tall from what I could see and she looked to be my age.  
Her eyes fixed on me and I heard her intake a light breath.  
"I need to ask you something," she said, whispering in a weak voice that was warm and soft.  
"What?" I asked, still in awe.  
"Please...come closer." she whispered  
"What is it?" I asked, leaning closer.  
"Will you go penguin sledding with me?" she asked in a normal, even excited voice.  
"Uh...sure. I guess," I said, leaning back and blinking in surprise.  
She seemed to float herself to her feet as she started to rub the back of her head in obvious confusion.  
"Ahhh!" Alana gasped, her mouth hanging open in shock. The girl hadn't gotten up like a normal person would. She had literally floated up into the air.  
"What's going on here?" the girl asked.  
"You tell us!" Alana snapped. "How'd you get in the ice?"  
She started poking the girl with her spear again. "And why aren't you frozen?  
The girl batted the spear away absently. "I'm not sure."  
The girl gasped just as a low, animal like noise came from the other side of the iceberg. She began to frantically climb back up the ruined iceberg and jumped over the lip of what was now in fact a crater and disappeared.  
We ran around other side where the ice had been blown out, trying to figure out what on earth the girl was up to.  
"Emrys! Are you all right? Wake up, buddy." I heard her saying.  
We came around the corner and our mouths dropped in shock as we looked at the monster before us. Lying in the snow was a dragon.  
Its scales were the color of sapphires, shading to lighter on the underside of it's neck and getting much thicker on its back. Her talons and spikes on her neck, back, and tail were bone-white. She had two serrated fangs that jutted out of her upper jaw onto her bottom lip slightly, and sharp, knife-like, meat-shearing teeth. Her head was roughly triangular, and she also possessed four cheek spines, slightly curved horns, and forehead spines between her horns. Her body stature could be inferred as very aerodynamic and built for flying. She looked young but very strong and eerily beautiful. She had long graceful wings that were covered with what looked like blue grey feathers.  
The girl leaned down and opened one of the beasts eyes - they were a stunning, intense sapphire blue color - but they merely closed again. She hopped down and tried to lift the dragon's huge head, but without effect. When the girl dropped the thing's head, the dragon opened its eyes and began rubbing its snout against the girl.  
She laughed and hugged the dragon back. "Haha! You're okay!"  
The dragon got up and shook herself off a bit, towering above all of us.  
"What is that thing?" Alana asked, awed.  
"This is Emrys, my dragon."  
"Right. And this is Kole, my flying brother." she said sarcastically, pointing to me. There was no such thing as dragons anymore. How was this possible?  
The girl was about to reply, but stopped when Emrys began to sneeze. The girl ducked just in time as the dragon proceeded to sneeze all over Alana.  
"Ewww! Ahhh!" she cried out. She was covered in the dragon's sticky green snot and tried to get rid of it by rolling around on the ice and snow.  
The girl waved her arms, unperturbed. "Don't worry. It'll wash out."  
"Ugh!" Alana cried as she wiped it off her face. I covered my mouth to keep from gagging.  
"So, do you guys live around here?" the girl asked.  
Alana jumped up and pointed a warning finger at me. "Don't answer that! Did you see that crazy bolt of light? She was probably trying to signal the Fire Navy."  
I rolled my eyes at her paranoia. "Oh, yeah, I'm sure she's a spy for the Fire Navy. You can tell by that evil look in her eye."  
We glanced at her innocent face, and she smiled slightly.  
"The paranoid one is my sister, Alana. You never told us your name," I said.  
She smiled. "I'm A...aaaahhhh...aaaahhhh...aaah aaah aaah AAAAAAACHOOOO!"  
As the girl sneezed, she zoomed off the ground far into the air. She responded to my question after she landed again.  
"I'm Odette," she said, sniffling as she rubbed her nose.  
"You just sneezed...and flew ten feet in the air," Alana said, incredulous.  
Odette looked confused. "Really? It felt higher that that."  
I gasped as I realized what was going on here. "You're an airbender!"  
"Sure am," she said, nodding proudly.  
"Giant light beams...dragons...airbenders...I think I've got Midnight Sun Madness. I'm going home to where stuff makes sense," Alana said, walking away but stopped at the iceberg's edge. There was nothing but desolate area in front of her. Just sea and ice.  
"Well, if you guys are stuck Emrys and I can give you a lift," Odette said, airbending herself onto Emrys's head, then to the top of her back where an enormous saddle rested. Reigns were attached to the sides of Emrys's great snout.  
"We'd love a ride! Thanks!" I said excitedly and climbed up into the saddle.  
"Oh, no...I am not getting on that feathery snot monster," Alana exclaimed.  
"Are you hoping some other kind of monster will come along and give you a ride home? You know...before you freeze to death?" I asked her curiously.  
Alana started to say something but gave up with a sigh. A moment later, we were seated in the back part of the saddle. I was excited but Alana was grumpy, sitting with her arms folded across her chest.  
"Okay. First time flyers, hold on tight! Emrys, yip yip!" Odette exclaimed, holding the reins.  
Odette shook the reigns and Emrys made a low rumble. She flapped her huge wings and then launched into the air. She spread her wings wide, but then came right back down into the water with a huge splash. She began to swim forward lazily.  
Odette shook the reigns again. "Come on, Emrys. Yip yip."  
"Wow. That was truly amazing," Alana said, her voice heavy with sarcasm as she brushed hair out of her face.  
"Emrys's just tired. A little rest and she'll be soaring through the sky. You'll see," Odette replied good naturedly. She made a soaring through the sky motion with her hand, her eyes finally resting on me. She left them there, a smile on her face as she looked at me.  
"Why are you smiling at me like that?" I asked her.  
"Oh...I was smiling?" she asked, slightly bemused. I laughed while Alana made a face.  
"Uuuuugh," she said, disgusted.

Ren:

I stood on the spotting deck off the bridge looking forward into the night as I thought about the day's events.  
I had a chance to go home, to regain my honor, and I didn't want to miss that chance. I didn't care what the crew thought, but they would be pushed night and day until I reached the Avatar. Nothing was going to stop me.  
I heard the heavy footfalls of my Uncle coming up behind me.  
"I'm going to bed now," he announced, making an exaggerated yawn. "Yep. A man needs his rest."  
When I didn't respond his voice grew slightly firmer. "Prince Ren, you need some sleep. Even if you're right and the Avatar is alive, you won't find him. Your father, grandfather, and great-grandfather all tried and failed."  
"Because their honor didn't hinge on the Avatar's capture. Mine does. This coward's hundred years in hiding are over." I hissed, angry again.

Odette:

I lied back on top of Emrys's head, looking up at the night sky and thinking about how lucky I was to have found such nice people.  
I heard Kole, in the saddle with his sister, crawl forward. I looked up to see him looking down from the saddle at me.  
"Hey," he said, frowning slightly like something was bothering him.  
I turned back to the sky. "Hey. Whatcha thinkin' about?"  
He sounded awkward. "I guess I was wondering – you're being an airbender and all – if you had any idea what happened to the Avatar."  
I blinked in surprise and, a little disconcerted, I said, "Uhh...no. I didn't know him...I mean, I knew people that knew him, but I didn't. Sorry."  
"Okay. Just curious. Goodnight," Kole said, and went back to curl up against his sister.  
"Sleep tight," I called after him.  
When he was gone I let the fear come out on my face. How shocked would he be when he found out the truth about the Avatar?  
I thought about how much things would change if he knew as I drifted off to sleep. As soon as I slipped into unconsciousness, my head was filled with dreams of the past.  
The colors in my dream were grays, crèmes and pale browns. I woke up on top of Emrys, with me in her saddle. Then a quick flash exploded across my vision and I was suddenly struggling against Emrys's reigns with heavy rain coming down.  
"Aaaahhhh!" I screamed as lightning flashed across the sky.  
Emrys and I suddenly penetrated the surface of the sea and entered the watery depths. We came up briefly for air, Emrys snarled, but we were once again driven under the storm tossed waves. As we drifted downward, I dropped Emrys's reigns and began to lose consciousness. Suddenly, a strange power filled me. I put my hands together and I froze myself and Emrys in a huge ball of ice. . .  
"Odette! Odette, wake up!" I heard someone telling me, shaking me.  
I woke up, gasping. A strong hand rested lightly on my shoulder and I looked up to see Kole smiling down at me gently.  
"It's okay. We're in the village now. Come on, get ready. Everyone's waiting to meet you," he said excitedly.  
That explained why I was looking up at the roof of a tent.  
I got up and fixed my shirt and put on my hood. I looked over and saw Kole looking at my airbender tattoos. He grabbed my hand once I was ready and dragged me outside. Before we left the tent, I spotted my staff and grabbed it as I passed by it.  
"Whaaaa!" I said in astonishment.  
A small crowd had gathered to greet me. It was composed of women of various ages and children. No men, besides Kole. That was kind of strange.  
"Odette, this is the entire village. Entire village, Odette," he said, gesturing between us.  
I bowed to them in a friendly manner, but the people pulled back from me anyway. I leaned toward Kole.  
"Uh...why are they all looking at me like that? Did Emrys sneeze on me?" I asked him, checking myself over.  
An old woman approached us as I inspected my clothes for dragon snot.  
"Well, no one has seen an airbender in a hundred years. We thought they were extinct until my granddaughter and grandson found you," the woman said.  
I blinked in confusion. "'Extinct'?"  
I didn't get any more clarification on that part. "Odette, this is my grandmother," Kole said, gesturing fondly to the old woman.  
"Call me Gran Gran," she said.  
Alana came over then and grabbed my staff. "What is this, a weapon? You can't stab anything with this," she said mockingly.  
"It's not for stabbing," I informed her. I created a jet of air that sucked the staff back into my hand. "It's for airbending."  
I opened the staff into a glider with red wings.  
"Magic trick! Do it again!" a little girl squealed.  
I laughed and smiled softly at her. "Not magic, airbending. It lets me control the air currents around my glider and fly."  
"You know, last time I checked, humans can't fly," Alana snorted.  
"Check again!" I grinned smugly at her and launched myself into the air with my glider. I soared through the air, doing loops as the villagers on the ground pointed to me in wonder.  
"Whoa...it's flying...it's amazing!" they all whispered in awe.  
I looked down at Kole who smiled at me. I was so enthralled with the attention I was getting that I slammed right into Alana's guard tower. I pulled my head out of the tower and fell to the ground with my glider.  
"Oof!" I exclaimed as I crashed to the ground.  
"My watchtower!" Alana gasped in a pained voice.  
"That was amazing," Kole exclaimed as he helped me back to my feet. I twirled my glider shut as Alana examined the damaged tower behind me. After I closed the glider a huge bank of snow fell and buried Alana.  
She came up spitting out mouth full's of snow. "Great. You're an airbender, Kole's a waterbender, together you can just waste time all day long."  
I turned to him in surprise. "You're a waterbender!"  
He shuffled his feet awkwardly. "Well...sort of. Not yet."  
"All right. No more playing. Come on, Kole, you have chores," Gran Gran said leading him away.  
"I told you! She's the real thing, Gran Gran! I finally found a bender to teach me," I heard him exclaim.  
I smiled slightly to myself as all the children suddenly gathered around me.

Ren:

It was late afternoon and the ship was still sailing on, trying to locate the beam of light. I was facing two Fire Navy seamen, props for my training practice. My Uncle sat a little ways off, overseeing the training.  
"Again," again he ordered, just after I had finished doing a set of moves perfectly.  
Irritated, I blasted fire from my hands at the guards, but missed. Then the guards attacked me with blasts of fire from their own fists, but I dodged. I back flipped over the guards to land behind them.  
"Ha! Heeya!" I screamed furiously as I knocked them all backwards with a blast of fire.  
Uncle sighed and got up.  
"No!" he snapped. "Power in firebending comes from the breath. Not the muscles. The breath becomes energy in the body. The energy extends past your limbs and becomes fire."  
He demonstrated, releasing a controlled plume of flame that burst in front of me, but did not hit me.  
"Get it right this time," my Uncle said, calmer now.  
I'd had it with this silly lesson. "Enough. I've been drilling this sequence all day. Teach me the next set. I'm more than ready."  
"No, you are impatient. You have yet to master your basics," he argued, taking a seat again. "Drill it again!" he said, more forcefully this time.  
"Grrrr...huh!" I turned blasted one of the guards backwards with a gout of fire, barely containing my rage. I turned back to my uncle and leaned down so my face was right up against his.  
"The sages tell us that the Avatar is the last airbender. He must be over a hundred years old by now. He's had a century to master the four elements. I'll need more than basic firebending to defeat him. You WILL teach me the advanced set!" I yelled in his face.  
He glared up at me unhappily. "Very well. But first I must finish my roast duck. To my amazement he began eating loudly. "Num num...num…"  
I stomped off, restraining myself from blasting him with a ball of fire.

Kole:

I watched in amusement as Alana paced back and forth in front of the young warriors, once again taking my job as the man of the tribe.  
"Now men, it's important that you show no fear when you face a firebender. In the Water Tribe, we fight to the last man standing. For without courage, how can we call ourselves men?"  
All six children stared back at her blankly, most of whom were only toddlers.  
A little boy raised his hand. "I gotta pee!" he announced.  
"Listen!" Alana said in frustration. "Until your fathers return from the war, they're counting on you to be the men of this tribe. And that means no potty breaks."  
"But I really gotta go," the little boy pleaded.  
Alana sighed in defeat. "Okay...who else has to go?"  
I laughed when all six raise their hands. Alana slapped her forehead in disgust as all six ran to the bathroom. I came over to her then, fighting a smile.  
"Have you seen Odette? Gran Gran said she disappeared over an hour ago," I asked her. I didn't know why but I had really grown attached to the girl already. I mean who wouldn't? She was pretty and smart and funny and there was just something . . . special, about her.  
Just then, Odette emerged from a small igloo type bathroom stall. She adjusted her pants and smiled at the troop of boys coming to use the toilet in the opposite stall.  
Odette gestured over her shoulder at the toilet. "Wow! Everything freezes in there!" she teased.  
The children were in hysterics. "Hahaha!"  
"Ugh! Kole, get her out of here. This lesson is for warriors only," she snapped in irritation.  
"Wheeee!" I heard a little kid scream and we both turned to see Emrys with Odette on her back. They had propped up her wing using a makeshift sawhorse. A kid was using Emrys's back and wing as a slide to land in a pile of snow. The children, and soon I along with them, all started laughing.  
"Stop! Stop it right now!" Alana screamed, angry. She turned on Odette. "What's wrong with you? We don't have time for fun and games with a war going on."  
"What war?" she asked, concerned as she hopped down off of Emrys. "What are you talking about?"  
"You're kidding, right?" Alana said, looking at her like she was crazy.  
Odette's gaze shifted slightly off of Alana to look at something beyond her.  
She broke out in a dazzling smile and laughed.  
"PENGUIN!" she shouted.  
I turned and saw a penguin in distance, visible between Alana and I. The penguin, aware that it had been spotted, made an excited noise and turned to waddle away. Odette used her airbending skill to run at an unbelievable speed toward the horizon where the penguin had just been.  
"She's kidding, right?" Alana asked sarcastically.  
I shrugged, smiling, and hurried after Odette, following her tracks. After an hour of walking, I found her on a beach loaded with penguins who waddled around, squawking.  
"Odette?" I called, spotting her tall figure.  
She was chasing some penguins, but was unable to catch them as they waddled away.  
"Haha! Hey, come on little guy. Wanna go sledding?" she asked them.  
Odette lunged, but fell flat on her face. She got back up as I approached.  
"Heh heh, I have a way with animals," she explained and winked at me.  
She put her arms out and waddled in imitation of the four flippered penguins. "Yarp! Yarp yarp! Yarp! Yarp yarp! Yarp!" she said loudly.  
I laughed, thoroughly amused. "Hahaha...Odette, I'll help you catch a penguin if you teach me waterbending."  
She turned to me, her grey eyes sparkling in excitement. "You got a deal! Just one little problem. I'm an airbender, not a waterbender. Isn't there someone in your tribe who can teach you?"  
I looked away sadly. "No. You're looking at the only waterbender on the whole South Pole."  
She frowned. "This isn't right. A waterbender needs to master water. What about the North Pole? There's another Water Tribe up there, right? Maybe they have waterbenders who could teach you," she suggested kindly.  
"Maybe. But we haven't had contact with our sister tribe in a long time. It's not exactly 'turn right at the second glacier.' It's on the other side of the world," I explained.  
She smiled slyly. "But you forget, I have a dragon. Emrys and I can personally fly you to the North Pole. Kole, we're gonna find you a master!"  
She would do that for me? She truly was something special. "That's...I mean, I don't know. I've never left home before," I told her uncertainly even though I really wanted to go.  
"Well, you think about it. But in the meantime, can you teach me to catch one of these penguins?" she laughed.  
I laughed and mocked a teacherly tone. "Okay, listen closely my young pupil. Catching penguins is an ancient and sacred art. Observe."  
I produced a little fish from my coat and tossed it at Odette. She was instantly surrounded by a horde of hungry penguins.  
By late afternoon, we had our penguins and we took off down a good sledding hill. Things were going good for a while, no large bumps or surprises. It was actually a little boring.  
Suddenly though, Odette and I rocketed off an ice bank. We landed on the bank below and continued down at high speed on the penguin's belly. Odette and her penguin took a jump off a small ramp, soaring through the air before landing in front of me. I took a jump of my own and landed near her. We laughed and whooped happily.  
"I haven't done this since I was a kid!" I called to her.  
"You still are a kid!" she yelled back.  
We continued to rocket across the frozen landscape, eventually entering system of ice tunnels. The tunnels had periodic gaps where sunlight poured through. We emerged from the tunnels and got off the penguin's mounts as they slid to a stop. They stood up and dizzily wandered away, making little chirping noises.  
We walked forward, looking at the huge ship just in front of us.  
"Whoa...what is that?" Odette asked, totally awed.  
I on the other hand was terrified.  
The huge ship was locked in the ice in front of us. It was a derelict Fire Navy ship, silhouetted by the sun behind it.  
"A Fire Navy ship, and a very bad memory for my people," I told her, my voice deathly serious.  
Odette began to walk to the ship.  
I grabbed her arm in panic. "Odette, stop! We're not allowed to go near it. The ship could be booby trapped."  
She turned to look at me with raised eyebrows. "If you wanna be a bender, you have to let go of fear."  
She was right of course. I looked at her uncertainly, and then followed her to the ship. We climbed up and entered the ship through a gaping hole in one of the forward compartments below the water line. We walked around the dark corridors inside and passed many darkened rooms.  
"This ship has haunted my tribe since Gran Gran was a little girl. It was part of the Fire Nation's first attacks," I told her as we walked.  
She looked really lost. "Okay, back up. I have friends all over the world, even in the Fire Nation. I've never seen any war.  
I stopped and looked at her, concerned now. "Odette, how long were you in that iceberg?"  
She shrugged. "I don't know...a few days, maybe?"  
I frowned for a moment then realized something in shock. "I think it was more like a hundred years!"  
She blinked at me and spluttered in shock. "What? That's impossible. Do I look like a hundred-seventeen year old woman to you?  
"Think about it. The war is a century old. You don't know about it because, somehow, you were in there that whole time. It's the only explanation," I told her, watching her carefully. Her face turned pale white and she looked at me in horror. She put her hand to her head and walked backward. Stunned by this realization, she sank to the floor.  
"A hundred years! I can't believe it," she breathed sadly. I can't believe it.  
I knelt down in front of her. "I'm sorry, Odette. Maybe somehow there's a bright side to all this."  
She smiled softly at me, revealing a perfect row of milky white teeth. "I did get to meet you."  
I smiled back at her. "Come on. Let's get out of here."  
I helped her back to her feet and we started walking once again. We walked a little ways more when Odette entered a darkened room on the ship with me right behind her in the hallway.  
I was starting to get a very bad feeling.  
"Odette? Let's head back. This place is creepy."  
"Huh?" she asked, not catching my words. I walked forward, into the room.  
Odette move forward a step and her foot accidentally dragged a hidden trip wire on the floor. Behind us, the door was blocked by a grate that dropped from the ceiling. We grabbed it just after it fell shut. We were trapped.  
"What's that you said about booby traps?" she asked sheepishly.  
Around us, machinery in the room started to operate. Gauges on steam pressure and wheels began to turn. Steam began to pour out of some of the equipment. Suddenly, a bright flare exploded out of the Fire Navy ship and into the sky, leaving a trail of smoke behind it. We looked out the window of the ship's bridge.  
"Uh oh," she said, sounding incredibly guilty.  
We watched as the flare rose. When it reached its zenith it exploded with a small shower of sparks. I turned to Odette and saw her looking up at hole in the ceiling.  
"Hold on tight!" she said and grabbed me. I cried out in surprise as she launched us both through the hole in the ceiling. She landed with me in her arms, which was kind of awkward for me, on top of the bridge.  
She hopped down the ship and to the ice down below. She set me down quickly and without saying a word we took off for the village.

Ren:

I watched the falling flare through the lens of a telescope. I moved the telescope, following the flare down for a few moments, before shifting downwards to see someone hopping down an old Fire Navy ship and the ice which encased it to the ground below, someone in the person's arms.  
"The last airbender," I muttered. "Quite agile for his old age. Wake my uncle! Tell him I found the Avatar…" I shouted at a guard.  
I looked back into my telescope to see the Avatar and the other person running across the ice away from the ship. I then scanned left quickly, then pulled it back right to focus on a little village.  
"...as well as his hiding place." I said smugly.  
My unscarred eye arched in determination.


	3. Chapter 2: The Avatar Returns

Odette:

It was nearly sunset when we reached the village. Alana stood at the head of the village, Gran Gran and some other villagers behind her. They look down the ice road out of their village, watching us in the distance walking toward them. As we approach, the children ran forward to greet us.  
"Yay! Odette's back!" they yelled. The children gathered around me as Alana came forward angrily.  
She pointed an accusing finger at me. "I knew it! You signaled the Fire Navy with that flare! You're leading them straight to us, aren't you?" she yelled.  
Kole stepped in front of me, blocking me from view. "Odette didn't do anything. It was an accident."  
"Yeh, we were on the ship and there was this booby trap and well…" I said, coming forward. I put a hand to my head, trying to puzzle out the thought "...we "boobied" right into it."  
Gran Gran shook her head in disappointment. "Kole, you shouldn't have gone on that ship. Now we could all be in danger!"  
"Don't blame Kole! I brought him there. It's my fault," I said sadly.  
Kole looked at me in amazement for taking all the blame.  
"Aha! The traitor confesses! Warriors, away from the enemy!" Alana yelled furiously.  
The children walked away from me and towards Alana and Gran Gran.  
"The foreigner is banned from our village!"  
"Alana, you're making a mistake," Kole said, snapping back at his sister angrily.  
"No! I'm keeping my promise to Dad. I'm protecting you from threats like her!" she hissed.  
Kole motioned to me. "Odette is not our enemy! Don't you see? Odette's brought us something we haven't had in a long time. Fun," he argued.  
She snorted. "Fun? We can't fight firebenders with fun!"  
I smiled to myself earnestly, thinking of a memory. "You should try it sometime."  
"Get out of our village. Now!" Alana barked.  
"Grandmother, please, don't let Alana do this," Kole pleaded.  
"Kole, you knew going on that ship was forbidden. Alana is right. I think it best if the airbender leaves," she said  
"Then I'm banished too!" Kole shouted back.  
He turned, taking me by the shoulder, and began to walk off.  
"C'mon, Odette, let's go!" he said, talking to me in a softer tone.  
Emrys was on the left side of the little road, ready for flight, while Alana and the villagers were on the right side. In between them Kole was pulling me along, the sun starting to set behind us.  
Alana pointed at her brother. "Where do you think you're going?"  
"To find a waterbender! Odette is taking me to the North Pole!" he snapped furiously.  
I was momentarily confused, and then brightened. "I am? Great!"  
"Kole!" Alana called and he came to a stop. "Would you really choose her over your tribe? Your own family?"  
He paused, doubt and indecision on his face. I came up next to him.  
"Kole, I don't want to come between you and your family," I told him and patted him on the shoulder.  
I walked forward towards Emrys.  
"So, you're leaving the South Pole? This is goodbye?" he asked sadly.  
I smiled and turned back to him, just as sad. "Thanks for penguin sledding with me."  
"Where will you go?" he asked.  
I put a hand on Emrys. "Guess I'll go back home and look for the airbenders. Wow, I haven't cleaned my room in a hundred years. Not looking forward to that," I laughed.  
I airbent myself onto Emrys's head where I took the reigns. I turned to address the village.  
"It was nice meeting everyone," I said sincerely.  
"Let's see your dragon fly now, air girl," Alana said mockingly.  
"Come on, Emrys, you can do it! Yip! Yip!" I said to her.  
Emrys just rumbled and got onto her feet.  
"Yeh, I thought so," Alana laughed.  
Just then a little girl with pig tails rushed forward with a cry to stand by Kole.  
The little girl's eyes were shining with tears. "Odette! Don't go! We'll miss you!"  
"I'll miss you too," I said sadly. I turned to look at Kole, my hair blowing lightly around my face. I gave a slight smile, tuned, and gave the reins one more flick.  
"Come on, girl," I said and we slowly trudged away from the village.  
Since Emrys was still tired for some odd reason, we only made it a half mile before she had to stop and rest. We found a large iceberg and rested on that for a long while. As she rested up, I leaned against her and played with the hem of my shirt. I was really going to miss Kole and even Alana.  
Emrys rumbled and let out a huff.  
"Yeh, I liked him too," I agreed.  
I looked out to the sea and got up with a start. A Fire Navy ship was steaming toward the village.  
"The village!" I gasped and slid down off my perch. "Emrys, wait here!"

Kole:

I watched as Alana left her tent with her weapons, wearing fingerless gloves, arm wraps, boots and face paint. I rolled my eyes at her. What was her with thinking she had to do everything herself?  
Alone, Alana stood atop the ice wall of the village, scanning the mist for any sign of the enemy. Suddenly, a deep rumbling noise could be heard and the ground began to shake. Parts of the wall on which Alana stood began to crumble. The villagers looked around in alarm. The guard tower collapsed in a heap of snow and ice.  
Alana, disappointed at the tower's collapse, whined. "Oh man!"  
Pandemonium broke out in the village as people began to run every which way. I was in their midst, but stopped, seeing something in the mist. Still atop the wall, Alana looked small. Suddenly, a massive shadow emerged from the mist, dwarfing Alana. It was the bow of a Fire Navy ship.  
The ship's vessel cut through the ice and all the way into the city wall itself. As the ship continued to break the ice and advance towards the wall, I put Gran Gran into one of the tents in the rear of the village and then got a little child out of harm's way as the ice floor of the village began to crack all over the place under the stress.  
As I put the child in a tent, I turned to look back to Alana. The ship had reached the wall and Alana was poised with her weapon.  
What was she doing?!  
"Alana, get out of the way!"  
As the ship reached the wall, it collapsed into a heap of ice and snow which tumbled back into the village, carrying Alana with it. The ship came to a halt and steam wafted up from where the bow had split the ice. The villagers, with me in in front, had emerged from their shelters and stared in trepidation and amazement at the ship. I drew a deep breath in anticipation.  
With a noise of metal on metal, the bowsprit of the ship opened and folded out and down onto the village's floor. The bowsprit had become a huge gangplank for disembarking Fire Nation troops. Alana fell backwards to avoid being crushed by the bowsprit.  
As the steam cleared from the top of the bowsprit, a man dressed in full body armor, a breastplate, shoulder guard, helmet and a host of Fire Nation soldiers were revelaed. I watched with fury as the man walked down the gangplank. I noticed with curiosity that he had a really bad scar dominating the left side of his face.  
Alana, being the idiot that she was, got up and charged the man with an adolescent war cry. As she ran up the steps to the man, he casually and expertly kicked her weapon out of her hand and then kicked her in the face, sending her sprawling onto the ice to the planks right.  
I sighed in disbelief when her head got stuck in the snow and she struggled to free herself. The villagers drew back in fright at the ease with which one of their only warriors had been dispatched by the invaders. The Fire Nation soldiers had now reached us. The man who looked to be in charge, the one with the scar, walked forward to address the village. He looked over the crowd, then walked over to me and Gran Gran.  
"Where are you hiding him?" he asked in dark voice.  
He looked around the crowd as there was no immediate response. He grabbed Gran Gran and showed her to the villagers.  
"He'd be about this age? Master of all elements?" he snapped.  
Again no one responded; we had no idea what he was talking about. After a brief pause, he threw Gran Gran roughly back to me and I caught her and held her close. With a cry of frustration he launched a gout of flame over the villager's heads and they cowered in fear.  
"I know you're hiding him!" he shouted at me.  
I glared right back at him.  
Behind the man, I saw Alana getting up, her face paint largely gone. She retrieved her weapon and charged the man with another cry.  
The man turned to her in annoyance. He dodged Alana's charges and flipped her over his head. He fired a blast of flame at Alana, but she rolled out of the way, throwing her boomerang at the man as she did. Caught by surprise, the man barely avoided the boomerang. He turned to look back in anger at Alana over the near miss. A little boy in the crowd threw her a spear.  
"Show no fear!" he cried.  
Alana caught the spear and charged the man again. As Alana reached him, he broke off pieces of the spear shaft with his wrist guards. After the head of the spear had been shorn off, the man grabbed the spear, boinked Alana on the forehead with it several times, then broke it in half and dropped the pieces on the ground. Alana, after getting bonked on the head, had also sunk to the ground, rubbing her head with the man standing sternly over her.  
In the sky behind him the boomerang reappeared. It slammed into the man in the back of the head, knocking his helmet off kilter. Furious, the man began to spit fire out of his hands as he hovered menacingly over Alana.  
Just behind them, I caught a flash of movement flying over the horizon. I squinted and gasped in shock.  
It was Odette! Skyrocketing towards the village on a penguin, staff in hand. She flew right under the man, sweeping his legs out from under him. The man landed butt up and his helmet landed on his behind in a most suggestive manner.  
The children cheered as Odette reached the villagers. As she and the penguin banked, they dumped a lot of snow on the cheering kids. they stopped cheering for a moment, but then took up the cheer again anyway. The penguin slid to a halt and it pushed Odette off. The penguin got up, looked at Odette, and then turned and waddled away.  
"Hey Kole. Hey Alana," she said, as happy and bright as ever.  
"Hi...Odette. Thanks for comin'," Alana said dryly.  
Odette looked over at the Firebenders. The man was getting to his feet and assuming a firebending stance. Odette was already at the ready with her staff, surrounded by the man and his men. They began to close in, but Odette blew the men on either side of her backwards with blasts of air. She blasted the man as well, but he held his ground, shielding his face from the wind.  
"Looking for me?" she taunted, looking him straight in the eyes with a coy smile.  
"You're the airbender? You're the Avatar?" he asked, incredulous.  
I started and looked at her. "Odette?"  
"No way," Alana said in disbelief.  
She didn't answer me as she and the man began maneuvering for a position against each other in the middle of the village that had become an arena.  
"I've spent years preparing for this encounter. Training. Meditating. You're just a child!" he scoffed.  
She snorted herself. "Well, you're just a teenager, the same as I."  
The man growled and fired blast after blast. Odette cried out in alarm. She was hard pressed, fear showing on her face. Odette dissipated each blast as it struck by twirling her staff in front of her like a helicopter blade. The dissipation didn't block the fire from reaching the villagers, though, and they cried out.  
Odette looked behind her to them and seemed realized that she couldn't protect us all.  
"If I go with you, will you promise to leave everyone alone?" she asked, turning to the man again and setting her staff down at her side.  
The man was still in a firebending stance. After a brief pause, he straightened up and nodded stiffly. A soldier took her staff and led her to the ship. I rushed forward, not being able to bear the sight of her being taken. Especially now that I knew who she really was.  
"No, Odette! Don't do this!" I begged her.  
"Don't worry, Kole, it'll be okay," she assured me, smiling. They pushed her forward roughly and she glared at them for a moment. "Take care of Emrys for me until I get back."  
"Head a course to the Fire Nation. I'm going home," the man ordered as he disappeared inside the ship.  
They boarded the ship and the bowsprit rose back up. Odette looked back hopefully at me as the ship closed.  
My eyes watered as the prison closed around her. Her smile dropped as she saw my pain. The shadow of the bowsprit closed over her.  
Hours passed and eventually it was morning.  
The jagged path through the ice that the man's ship had opened was plainly visible as was the shattered village wall.  
Life went on, however. The fire at the center of the village smoked and villagers went about their work. The villagers tended to the fire, dug out the watchtower and re-rose tents. They all wore the same mask of sad expressions on their faces.  
I stood at the water's edge, looking out at the sun rising over the sea, thinking of Odette at the hands of the Fire Nation. Alana walked by carrying some things in her arms.  
I took a deep breath. "We have to go after that ship, Alana. Odette saved our tribe; now we have to save her," I told her.  
"Kole, I—" she began but I stopped her before she could continue.  
"Why can't you realize that she's on our side? If we don't help her, no one will. I know you don't like Odette, but we owe her and I—"  
"Kole!" she said, exasperated. "Are you gonna talk all day or are you comin' with me?"  
I turned and saw Alana motioning to her left, pointing to a canoe ready to go.  
"Alana!" I said happily and picked her up to give her a bear hug. One of the few good things about me being bigger and stronger than her was I could hold her down all day without breaking a sweat.  
"Get in. We're going to save your girlfriend," she said teasingly.  
I frowned, embarrassed. "She's not my—"  
"Whatever," she interrupted, rolling her eyes.  
Gran Gran's voice suddenly spoke up right behind us. "What do you two think you're doing?"  
We turned and tried to look innocent. Gran Gran's face was momentarily severe, but then she smiled and offered us a blue bundle. We looked at her in surprise.  
"You'll need these. You have a long journey ahead of you. It's been so long since I've had hope. But you brought it back to life, my little waterbender," she said, hugging me tightly.  
"And you, my brave warrior, be nice to your brother," she said, hugging Alana.  
"Yeah...okay, Gran," she said, hugging her back.  
She turned slightly to look at us both seriously. "Odette is the Avatar. She's the world's only chance. You both found her for a reason. Now your destinies are intertwined with hers."  
I turned to look doubtfully at the canoe. "There's no way we're gonna catch a war ship with a canoe."  
I looked up, a large shape catching my eye and saw Emrys mounting the crest of hill a little ways off. She emitted a loud screech as she approached, her tail flicking in agitation as she flexed her sharp claws in the snow. She was such a strange yet beautiful creature to look at. Strange because she was basically two different animals thrown together and beautiful because of that very fact.  
"Emrys!" I gasped and ran toward the dragon.  
"You just love taking me out of my comfort zone, don't ya?" Alana muttered, following after me.

Odette:

Prince Ren's - who I now knew was the man who had captured me thanks to some noisy guards - ship's prow cut through the ice packed water.  
I was on the foredeck, my hands bound behind me with guards surrounding me. I was facing Ren, an old sweet looking man who they called Ira, and a bunch of guards.  
"This staff will make an excellent gift for my father. I suppose you wouldn't know of fathers, being raised by monks," he said coldly. We stared at each other for a moment, sizing each other up.  
He was a head taller than me - standing about six-six, lean and muscular, with light olive skin and gleaming golden brown eyes. His hair was dark black. To my surprise, I found him to be extremely handsome, even though he had a gruesome scar that covered his left eye, which was closed in a permanent slit.  
He may have been handsome but on the inside, I think he could have used some work. But even though he was cruel and vicious, there was still something about him that interested me, something . . . redeemable inside him.  
He blinked and shook his head slightly before his eyes turned hard and cold again.  
"Take the Avatar to the prison hold. And take this to my quarters," he said, handing my staff over to Ira.  
Ira took the staff as Ren walked away. The old man immediately turned to the guard on his left.  
"Hey, you mind taking this to his quarters for me?" he said in a very caring and kind voice, completely the opposite of who I suspected was his grandson or nephew or whatever.  
I let a small giggle slide through my lips and Ira met my smile with a wink.  
The guard took the staff as I was escorted down some stairs into the ship and along one of the ship's hallways.  
I thought for a moment, then came up with the perfect escape plan. "So...I guess you never fought an airbender before. I bet I can take you both with my hands tied behind my back," I taunted.  
"Silence!" one of the guards snapped.  
We stopped in front of a door. As one of the guards moved to open the door with a key, I drew in a great breath and blew the guard with the key into the door, knocking him out. The breath also propelled me backwards and into the guard behind me.  
We were blown all the way back down the hallway and crashed into the stairs we had just come down. The guard was knocked out, since I'd used him to cushion my own impact.  
I airbent myself back up onto the deck and airbent the door at the end of the deck open. I entered the ship and ran down the hall.  
As I ran through the halls of the ship, I heard a booming voice shout, "The Avatar has escaped!"  
I huffed in annoyance. This escape just got a lot more interesting.

Kole:

Emrys was swimming through the water, with me at the reigns and Alana on her back in the saddle. We had been trying to get the dragon in the air for an hour now with absolutely no results.  
"Go. Fly. Soar," Alana said drearily.  
"Please, Emrys, we need your help. Odette needs your help," I said, trying to coax her into it.  
"Up. Ascend. Elevate," Alana was going on.  
"Alana doesn't believe you can fly, but I do, Emrys. Come on. Don't you wanna save Odette?"  
Emrys rumbled in response, but didn't speed up or fly.  
"What was it that kid said? Yee-ha? Hup hup? Wahoo? Uh...yip yip?" Alana asked.  
At last we got a response. Emrys rumbled again and began to flap her massive wings and kick her dragon's feet. She began to hop along the surface of the water as she picked up speed. Finally, with a mighty heave, she took off into the sky.  
I was ecstatic. "You did it, Alana!"  
"She's flying! She's flying! Kole, she's—!" she was screaming at me until she looked over and saw I was giving her a smug look. "I mean, big deal, she's flying," she said nonchalantly.  
I laughed and shook my head. Now we would reach Odette in no time.

Odette:

I ran down one of the ship's hallways, looking behind me for pursuers. My hands were still bound behind me, making everything harder. I turned a corner and started to run forward – and ran right into three Fire Nation soldiers blocking my way, weapons drawn.  
I slid to a halt, panting. "You haven't seen my staff around, have you?"  
When they started to advance on me, I ran forward and up and around the guards by running along the walls and ceiling in corkscrew circles. I got by them with ease and they looked in astonishment at my retreating form.  
"Thanks anyway!" I called back.  
I ran into another hallway, this time blocked by a single guard. He blasted a fireball at me, but I avoided it by launching myself over the guards head. As I passed overhead, I was able to cut my wrist bonds by catching them on the horn of the guard's helmet. The bonds broke and the guard was thrown off balance and onto the ground. With my hands now free I ran by several different doors, opening each one, looking for my glider. The last door I opened revealed the sleeping form of the old man from before, Ira.  
"Sorry," I whispered and shut the door quietly before continuing running down the hall. I ran past one door, almost all the way at the end of the hall. I only bothered glancing at this one but when I did I stopped and walked back a few paces to look into the door.  
"My staff!" I gasped.  
I entered and the door swung shut behind me. I spun around with my glider in hand and froze, seeing Ren where he clearly had been in wait for me.  
"Looks like I underestimated you," he said.  
After a brief pause, Ren began blasting fire at me, and I barely dodged it. I was terrified and I gasped and panted as I tried to catch my breath. After dodging a few more shots, I rolled underneath Ren to get behind him. By staying behind him, Ren was unable to blast me with fire.  
He sidestepped me eventually and I was left to face him again. I dissipated each fireball with a small air ball I formed with my hands. I created an air scooter and rode around the walls and ceiling of the room, all the time getting licked by the gouts of flame Ren unleashed at me.  
I terminated the air ball and grabbed a tapestry off the wall. I wrapped Ren up in it as I passed. While Ren struggled against the tapestry, I was able to grab my staff just as Ren broke his bonds and we once again squared off against each other.  
After a few seconds of maneuvering, I got tired of this nonsense and just airbent a mattress up off the floor and slammed it into Ren. The mattress propelled him into the opposite wall where he was smashed into it and fell to the ground, onto the mattress. I then airbent the mattress up to the ceiling, smashing Ren into that. Both fell back down to the ground. Ren looked up in anger to find me disappearing around the corner.  
I ran up to the bridge, and used my airbending to spin the wheel mechanism that opened a deck hatch. The hatch opened and I airbent myself onto the bridge from below.  
I rushed forward out onto the bridge's observation deck. I opened my glider, threw it into the air and jumped after it. I caught it, a happy expression on my face now that I was finally free.  
Unfortunately, behind me, Ren jumped after me in pursuit. With a fierce cry of desperation, he grabbed my foot, pulling us down to the foredeck where we landed with a massive thud. I skidded across the deck a few feet before screeching to halt. We both got up and squared off yet again. A look of trepidation was tempered as I looked over my left shoulder to see Emrys up in the sky gaining on Ren's ship.  
"What is that?" I heard Ren ask, awed.  
I peered closer and saw with dismay that it was Kole and Alana riding on Emrys.  
"Emrys!" I cried out, not sure if I was relieved or horrified.  
I turned just in time to use my staff to block a fire blast from Ren. I used my staff as a helicopter to escape the blasts and came back down on the edge of the deck, almost falling overboard. I regained my balance and blocked three more fireballs before my staff was knocked away from me. I dodged a few more blasts before I was finally knocked overboard. I fell into the water below.  
"Odette! No!" I heard Kole call out to me, hysterical.  
Even underwater, I could hear him calling my name. "Odette! Odette! Odette!"  
At Kole's final scream, that strange power filled me again. I looked down and saw my tattoo's glow white as a feeling of determination filled me. I turned around in the water and began to rise towards the surface. Around me, a mighty whirlpool of water began to form. I was at the center of a now monstrous, inverted tornado of water and was propelled toward the surface at amazing speed. I broke the surface in front of the ship, towering high over the bridge atop my swirling maelstrom of water.  
Ren looked up at the swirling column of water and at me at its pinnacle with dismay and fear. I landed on the deck, my tattoo's still aglow, and bent the water from the column around me in circle. I released it and it expanded outward in a shockwave that blasted Ren and his men overboard.  
"Did you see what she just did?" I heard Kole asked in amazement.  
"Now that was some waterbending!" Alana agreed, astounded. Huh, this may be the first time I had actually managed to impress Alana.  
I fell to my knees, wobbling after the huge energy expenditure. I fell forward, the white energy fading from my tattoos. Emrys landed and Kole and Alana jump off to retrieve me.  
"Odette! Are you okay?" Kole asked, running over to me worriedly. He knelt beside me and held me up, Alana beside him.  
"Hey Kole. Hey Alana. Thanks for coming," I said, my voice drained as I mockingly quoted Alana.  
"Well, I couldn't let you have all the glory," she blushed.  
"I dropped my staff," I said, nodding over to where it had fallen.  
"Got it!"  
Alana ran over to pick up the staff. As she picked it up, I along with her was shocked to see that Ren held the other end of it. Ren was washed overboard, but held onto the part of my staff that was hanging out over the deck.  
Alana butted Ren in the head with the staff three times the way Ren had done to her earlier. Ren let go and began to fall to the water below, but grabbed the anchor chain in time, judging from the clinking sound I heard.  
Alana laughed jubilantly. "Ha! That's from the Water Tribe!"  
Kole was helping me up onto Emrys when some of the guards who had been washed way down the deck by my waterbending got up, preparing for combat. Kole picked up a stream of water from the deck and the guards pulled back slightly in fear. He tried to whip the guards with the water, but instead froze the water on the deck, including the water around Alana's feet.  
"Kole!" Alana whined in irritation.  
She started to chip away at the ice holding her feet with her boomerang while the soldiers move forward once again. Kole picked up another stream of water and threw it at the soldiers without looking. He looked up, pleased to find them frozen in water before joining me on Emrys.  
"Hurry up, Alana!" Kole shouted at his sister while I took Emrys's reins.  
"I'm just a girl with a boomerang; I didn't ask for all this flying and magic," she said, muttering to herself.  
She finally freed herself and ran up Emrys's wing.  
"Yip yip! Yip yip!" she cried.  
Once she was onboard, Emrys rumbled and took off. I glanced down just as Ira emerged onto the deck after his nap, looking up to the sky as Emrys rapidly flew away from the ship  
I watched as Ira ran forward and helped Ren back up onto the ship.  
"Shoot them down!" Ren shouted.  
As we gained altitude, Ren and Ira in unison launched a massive bolt of fire at Emrys. Kole and Alana looked behind us in horror at the approaching fireball. I jumped to the back of the saddle and, using my staff like a baseball bat, airbent a gale that sent the fireball at a right angle away from Emrys and into the ice cliff nearby.  
The fireball exploded, releasing a huge amount of ice from the cliff wall which fell into the narrow channel that Ren's ship was navigating. Ren gasped in horror as the bow of the ship and the entire channel was blocked up under an avalanche of ice.  
We all laughed as we flew away.

Ren:

"Good news for the Fire Lord. The nation's greatest threat is just a little girl," Uncle said gleefully.  
"That girl, Uncle, just did this," I said, gesturing to the disaster in front of me. "I won't underestimate her again."  
Okay, I'll admit it, the girl's beauty had led me to believe that she was incapable of causing any damage. But now I realized she was a threat, and that was the end of it. She was just a silly little girl who was in my way of returning home, and I hated her for that.  
Every time I pictured her face, her grey eyes and brown hair I wanted to puke. I would end her if I had to. Dead or alive, my father would receive the Avatar, and I would make sure it was all done by my hand. I would not lose her again.  
"Dig this ship out and follow them!" I ordered, turning around to see some soldiers using controlled firebending to thaw out their compatriots frozen by that peasant waterbender.  
"As soon as you're done with that." I added.

Odette:

It was now sunset and we were flying high through the clouds on Emrys's back. It had been pretty quiet; the others were letting me recuperate after my Avatar outburst. But Emrysrently now that the sun was going down, my unneeded time for rest was up.  
"How did you do that? With the water? It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen," Kole said, sitting on his knees and looking up at me with wonder.  
I was sitting cross legged on the bridge of the saddle, with a slightly sad expression. Why try to avoid it; these people were my friends after all, so I shouldn't have to hide anything.  
I sighed. "I don't know. I just sort of...did it."  
"Why didn't you tell us you were the Avatar?" he asked, quieter now.  
"Because...I never wanted to be," I told him, turning away in shame.  
"But Odette, the world's been waiting for the Avatar to return and finally put an end to this war," he said gently.  
I looked down sadly. "And how am I going to do that?"  
"According to legend, you need to first master water, then earth, then fire, right?" he asked.  
I nodded. "That's what the monks told me."  
"Well, if we go to the North Pole you can master waterbending," he said, excited.  
I smiled. "We can learn it together!"  
Kole turned to his sister. "And Alana, I'm sure you'll get to knock some firebender heads on the way."  
"I'd like that. I'd really like that," Alana said, somewhat dreamily.  
"Then we're in this together," Kole announced happily.  
I produced a scroll, my spirits high once more.  
"All right, but before I learn waterbending, we have some serious business to attend to," I announced as I aribent myself over to them and opened the scroll to reveal a map. "Here, here, and here." I said. I pointed to two spots in the Earth Kingdom, and one spot on the southern Air Nomad islands in quick succession.  
"What's there?" Kole asked.  
I winked at him and smiled. Pointing to the eastern Earth Kingdome, I said, "Here we'll ride the hopping llamas. Then waaaay over here," I said, pointing to a spot on the southern Air Nomad islands, "we'll surf on the backs of giant koi fish. Then back over here we'll ride the hog-monkeys. They don't like people riding them, but that's what makes it fun!"  
They looked at me like I was absolutely insane and I laughed, not entirely disagreeing with them.


	4. Chapter 3: The Southern Air Temple

Odette:

We had decided to make camp on a pretty river. It was now morning, and after a good night's sleep everyone was up and refreshed. Well, almost everyone.  
One of our members was Emrysrently still asleep in a Water Tribe sleeping bag on the ground. Emrys was standing, grazing slowly, while a small fire cast a plume of smoke. I was sitting on my usual spot on Emrys, up at the reins on the bridge of the saddle. Kole was up in the passenger section doing some kind of work.  
While I was adjusting Emrys's reins, I spoke to him excitedly. "Wait 'til you see it, Kole. The Air Temple is one of the most beautiful places in the world."  
We had decided the night before that our first stop would be my old home.  
"Odette, I know you're excited, but it's been a hundred years since you've been home," he said cautiously.  
I smiled at him. "That's why I'm so excited!"  
"It's just that a lot can change in all that time," he said.  
I paused. "I know, but I need to see it for myself."  
I floated down from Emrys's back and walked over to Alana, who was snoring peacefully in her sleeping bag on the ground  
"Wake up, Alana! Air Temple here we come!" I said loudly, poking her.  
Alana awakened, making groggy noises. "Sleep now...temple later…"  
She rolled over and began to snore again. I pursed my lips, irritated with her usual laziness. A mischievous grin spread over my face as I got an idea.  
I picked up a stick as Kole watched from atop Emrys's back.  
"Alana! Wake up!" I said, faking a panicked voice. I began to run the stick up and down Alana's sleeping bag. "There's a prickle snake in your sleeping bag!"  
"Aaaahhhh! Get it off! Get it off! Aaaahhhh!" she screamed, startled.  
Alana hopped around in her sleeping bag until she lost her balance and fell flat on her face. Kole laughed at her and she looked back at us, very irritated.  
"Great! You're awake. Let's go," I said cheekily.

Ren:

We docked in the nearest Fire Nation naval yard we could find. Tents and buildings lined the street across from the docks and what looked like a railroad line ran down the middle of the street.  
Compared to the others, my ship was much smaller than the other Fire Nation ships. The prow of my ship had been opened, its spout lying on the floor of the navy yard. I walked down the spout with my Uncle at my side and entered the yard.  
I turned to my Uncle as I looked around. "Uncle, I want the repairs made as quickly as possible. I don't want to stay too long and risk losing her trail."  
"You mean the Avatar?"  
I turned on my uncle angrily. "Don't mention her name on these docks! Once word gets out that she's alive every firebender will be out looking for her and I don't want anyone getting in the way.  
"Getting in the way of what, Prince Ren?" a familiar voice questioned  
We turned to face the man with somewhat surprised expressions. Three men were walking towards us. At the front of the group was a tall man with a black beard, flat face, and cold golden eyes. The man's hands were clasped behind his back authoritively.  
"Captain Drake," I said with distaste.  
"It's Commander now," he said smugly, narrowing his eyes. He turned to my uncle. " And General Ira-great hero of our nation," he said, bowing to him.  
"Retired general," Uncle replied humbly.  
"The Fire Lord's brother and son are welcome guests any time. What brings you to my harbor?"  
"Our ship is being repaired," Uncle explained, nodding to my ship.  
"That's quite a bit of damage," Drake pointed out as he examined the heavily damaged bow through narrowed eyes.  
I froze. "Yes...you wouldn't believe what happened."  
I had nothing.  
I gave my uncle a sideways glance and immediately passed the buck. "Uncle! Tell Commander Drake what happened."  
Uncle's eyes got wide and he blinked in response to the burden I has just placed on him.  
"Yes, I will do that. It was incredible," he stuttered before leaning over and whispered to me. "What...did we crash or something?"  
"Uh, yes! Right into an Earth Kingdom ship," I said, uncomfortable.  
"Really? You must regale me with all the thrilling details." Drake smiled and put his face right up to mine in an obvious challenge. "Join me for a drink?"  
"Sorry, but we have to go." There was no way I was going to spend even a second with this crazy psychopath.  
I turned to leave, but Uncle placed a hand on my shoulder and stopped me.  
"Prince Ren, show Commander Drake your respect," he growled. Turning to Drake, he said, "We would be honored to join you. Do you have any ginseng tea? It's my favorite."  
I growled in frustration and released fire from my fists angrily as I turned to follow Drake and Uncle down the dock, not liking my situation one bit.

Kole:

Odette and I sat up front on Emrys while Alana sat in the passenger saddle. Things had been relatively quiet since we had left the river a few hours ago, just an occasional comment here and there.  
That blissful silence came to a screeching halt though when we heard Alana's stomach grumble loudly behind us.  
"Hey, stomach, be quiet, all right? I'm trying to find us some food," she said, annoyed.  
She searched the food bag and dumped it out onto her glove. Only a few crumbs came out.  
She turned to us in annoyance. "Hey! Who ate all my blubbered seal jerky?"  
Odette turned to look back at her in confusion. "Oh, that was food? I used it to start the campfire last night. Sorry."  
"You WHAT?" Alana asked, incredulous, her blue eyes wide. " Awww, no wonder the flames smelled so good."  
As Emrys swooped towards the now much closer mountains, Odette smiled excitedly.  
"The Catola mountain range! We're almost there!" she announced.  
I was a little uneasy with her excitement. "Odette? Before we get to the temple, I want to talk to you about the airbenders."  
"What about 'em?"  
"Well, I just want you to be prepared for what you might see. The Fire Nation is ruthless. They killed my mother and they could have done the same to your people," I explained.  
Odette's face relaxed into hopeful optimism. "Just because no one has seen an airbender doesn't mean the Fire Nation killed them all. They probably escaped."  
"I know it's hard to accept," I said sympathetically.  
She shook her head stubbornly. "You don't understand, Kole. The only way to get to an airbender temple is on a dragon, and I doubt the Fire Nation has any dragons. Right, Emrys?  
Odette rubbed the big animal's head as she grunted an affirmative.  
"Yip yip!" Odette said and Emrys flew us up higher, turning tightly around a mountain face.  
Alana and I were straining against the wind sheer the faster we moved. Emrys flew up and over a rocky outcropping and treetops to reveal the tall spires of the Southern Air Temple behind it.  
"There it is...the Southern Air Temple," Odette announced fondly.  
I blinked in awe. "Odette, it's amazing!"  
"We're home, buddy. We're home," she said quietly to Emrys.

Ren:

We were led away from the ships to a wooden stockade with many Fire Nation tents behind it. One was particularly large, with a prominent Fire Nation symbol on it. Two guards, flanked by large standing firepots, stood at the ready in front of the tent.  
We were taken inside the large tent where Commander Drake stood with his back to us as he inspected a large map of the world upon the wall.  
"By year's end, the Earth Kingdom capital will be under our rule," Drake finally said.  
Uncle was inspecting a stand of weapons on the left and I sat in one of two chairs in front of Drake. He turned to me.  
"The Fire Lord will finally claim victory in this war," he said and I glared at him. Words could not describe how much I hated looking at this man's smug face.  
"If my father thinks the rest of the world will follow him willingly, then he is a fool," I sneered.  
Drake sat down next to me, his eyes on me. I refused to give him the respect of returning his gaze.  
"Two years at sea have done little to temper your tongue," he growled and paused for a moment, his tone taking on a mocking edge. "So, how is your search for the Avatar going?"  
Just then, Uncle tipped over the stand of weapons he had been examining. The commotion thankfully brought the conversation to a halt. I looked up as Uncle cringed at the mess he had just made.  
"My fault entirely," he said, embarrassed. He sheepishly backed away to the left. Drake watched him move off with calculating eyes.  
"We haven't found him yet," I said, bringing the conversation up again. I could not afford to have Drake suspect anything about the Avatar.  
Drake snorted mockingly. "Did you really expect to? The Avatar died a hundred years ago-along with the rest of the airbenders."  
I averted my eyes guiltily, avoiding Drake's eager face. I hated the man and wished he would fall on a spear but I still wasn't a fan of lying, even though I did it almost everyday.  
"Unless you found some evidence that the Avatar is alive," Drake said, suspicious.  
"No. Nothing," I said coldly, still looking away.  
He rose up from his chair. "Prince Ren, the Avatar is the only one who can stop the Fire Nation from winning this war. If you have an ounce of loyalty left, you'll tell me what you've found," he said, leaning his face up to mine.  
I looked at him defiantly, my voice quivering with barely contained rage. "I haven't found anything. It's like you said. The Avatar probably died a long time ago. Come on, Uncle, we're going," I said.  
I got up and tried to exit, but was blocked by the guards as they crossed their spears in front of me. Another guard approached Drake to deliver his report.  
"Commander Drake, we interrogated the crew as you instructed. They confirmed Prince Ren had the Avatar in custody, but let her escape," the guard said.  
I froze. Wonderful.  
"Now, remind me…" Drake said smugly. I was still being blocked by the guards as Drake came up behind me.  
"How exactly was your ship damaged?"  
I looked down in defeat.

Odette:

We left Emrys standing on the landing platform and started walking. We were up hundreds of feet on a winding path curving back and forth across the rock face of the temple's mountain, heading up toward the temple, with me in the lead, racing on ahead of the others, so happy to finally be where I belonged.  
"So where do I get something to eat?" Alana asked.  
I glanced behind me and saw that Alana had a very cross look on her face and she was clutching her stomach in hunger.  
"You're lucky enough to be one of the first outsiders to ever visit an airbender temple and all you can think about is food?" Kole asked in surprise  
"I'm just a simple girl with simple needs," Alana replied, shrugging.  
I was at the edge of the path and I stopped to let the others catch up. When they did, I pointed below us.  
"So that's where my friends and I would play airball!" I told them excitedly, smiling at all the memories there.  
I gestured at a small parapet cut into the rock face below the path. It was populated with a thicket of densely packed sticks of varying heights that had been stuck in the ground. A goal with a backboard occupied both ends of the field.  
"And...over there would be where the dragons would sleep...And…" I trailed off with a sigh, sadness sweeping over me.  
"What's wrong?" Kole asked.  
"This place used to be full of monks and wolves and dragons. Now there's just a bunch of weeds," I said dejectedly, looking around at the once beautiful landscape. "I can't believe how much things have changed."  
Alana and Kole hurried up to me.  
"So, uh, this airball game? How do you play?" Alana asked awkwardly.  
I smiled at her weak attempt to make me feel better.  
But, a few minutes later, Alana was standing atop one of the poles with a backboard behind her, looking ready for action. I stood with the opposite backboard behind me. I was bending air around a rapidly spinning ball to keep it floating above my outstretched right hand.  
I started manipulating the ball in a crazy manner. Then, I threw it up in the air over my head. Alana followed it with her eyes. I put my hands behind my back, closed my eyes and smiled, waiting for the ball to come back down.  
I cracked one eye open and bent the air at the precise moment to send the ball bouncing through the field of sticks like a pinball in an arcade game. Alana watched the ball ricochet toward her at amazing speed. The ball hit her in the stomach and she was propelled backward through a rotating door in the backboard behind her. She hit the ground nearby.  
"Hahaha! Odette seven, Alana zero!" I said victoriously. I showed the score with my hands, seven fingers for me and a zero between my touching fingertips for Alana.  
"Making her feel better is putting me in a world of hurt," Alana muttered painfully.  
"Odette, there's something you need to see," Kole suddenly called to me a moment later while I was getting the ball.  
I approached happily with the ball in hand, calling out a quick, "Okay!"  
"What is it?" I asked him, coming over. His face looked confused for a second and I looked down and saw Alana's feet flailing about in the snow.  
"Uh...just a new waterbending move I learned," he said, uncertainly.  
"Nice one. But enough practicing. We have a whole temple to see!" I told him, wanting to move on.  
A short while later, we reached the entrance gate of the Air Temple itself. I ran in alone, leaving Alana and Kole behind me.  
When I realized they weren't following, I turned, spotted a statue, and called back to them. "Hey guys!"  
They looked up at me and I motioned to a statue of an airbender monk.  
"I want you to meet somebody," I said.  
"Who's that?" Alana asked as they came over, pointing at the statue.  
"Monk Athos, the greatest airbender in the world. He taught me everything I know," I said, nostalgia creeping through me.  
I bowed to the statue.  
As I gazed at my old teachers face, the world shifted to a hazy and surreal flashback. A live version of the man whose statue I bowed to began to speak.  
"But the true secret…" he was saying as he held a long spatula with a cake at the end of it. He appeared to have just pulled out the cake from the mouth of the large oven. He airbent the colorful filling into an attractive pile in the middle of it. "Is in the gooey center!"  
I remembered this day well. I was sitting on the wall of the parapet, not paying attention, occupied with something.  
"Hmm…" I asked, turning back to him,  
"My ancient cake making technique isn't the only thing on your mind, is it, Odette?" Athos guessed.  
I sighed. "This whole Avatar thing...maybe the monks made a mistake."  
Athos looked at me warmly, smiling his chipped-toothed smile. "The only mistake they made was telling you before you turned eighteen. But we can't concern ourselves with what was. We must act on what is."  
Athos gestured ceremoniously to the world around us. The air around the temple was full of dragon and other inhabitants. The beautiful, dreamlike surroundings were full of life.  
"But Athos, how do I know if I'm ready for this?" I pressed, my fear settling in.  
"Your questions will be answered when you are old enough to enter the Air Temple sanctuary. Inside you will meet someone who will guide you on your journey."  
I excitedly jumped up to turn and face Athos fully. "Who is it?"  
Athos laughed. "When you are ready he will reveal himself to you."  
I sighed heavily in frustration.  
"Now, are you going to help me with these cakes, or not?" he asked me.  
"All right," I said, smiling.  
Athos and I assumed airbending stances, with the four cakes sitting on the wall. We both cocked back, creating balls of wind with our airbending skill as Athos counted.  
"One...two...Three!"  
We both released our air balls on the count of three, propelling the cakes high into the air. They made a distinctive whizzing noise as they came down and soon four meditating monks were soon each wearing one of the four cakes. The monks were quickly surrounded by little grey wolf-like creatures that began feasting on the cakes.  
We laughed heartily and bowed to each other respectfully. Athos patted my head affectionately.  
"Your aim has improved greatly my young pupil," he said fondly.  
The flashback ended, and I bowed to the statue of Athos, just as I had bowed to the real Athos at the end of the flashback.  
Kole came forward and placed a hand on my shoulder.  
"You must miss him," he said.  
"Yeah," I said softly and moved forward to go into the Temple.  
"Where are you going?" he asked.  
As I climbed the steps, I glanced back and said, "The Air Temple Sanctuary. There's someone I'm ready to meet."  
Kole looked at Alana who shrugged. They followed me as I approached the sanctuary.  
It was a huge wooden door that was dominated by an enormous woodcut comprised of three air symbols protruding from its surface. They were arranged in a triangular pattern. The symbols were attached to tubes that ended in two horns near the bottom of the woodcut.  
"But Odette...no one could have survived in there for a hundred years," Kole said, confused.  
I shrugged. "It's not impossible. I survived in the iceberg for that long."  
"Good point."  
I turned to him, my hand on the door. "Kole, whoever's in there might help me figure out this Avatar thing!"  
Alana popped out from behind Kole eagerly. "And whoever's in there might have a medley of delicious, cured meats!"  
Alana rubbed her hands together in fevered anticipation of the food that might await her. She rushed forward and ran straight into the door with a 'thunk.' She strained against the big door to no avail and slid down to the floor in defeat.  
"I don't suppose you have a key?" she said, looking up at me.  
I shook my head. "The key, Alana, is airbending."  
I composed myself and drew in my breath. I raised both my arms perpendicular to my body, then pushed forward with my arms and stepped forward with my right leg. I airbent two jets of air, one from each arm, into the horns at the bottom of the woodcut. The air ran through the tubes and one by one flipped the air symbols from the blue sides which had been showing to the maroon sides, which had been facing the interior of the temple. As each turned, it flipped another mechanism on the outside of the door to unlock it. The two leaves of the door opened to reveal the dark, cavernous interior of the Air Temple Sanctuary.  
I called inside. "Hello? Anyone home?"  
I walked into the dark room, Kole and Alana following me.

Ren:

Drake crossed in front of me while my uncle stood nearby. I was making it perfectly clear about my unhappiness with the situation. A pair of guards stood behind me, keeping me from doing anything rash.  
"So, a seventeen-year-old girl bested you and your firebenders?" he asked in disbelief. "You're more pathetic than I thought."  
"I underestimated her once, but it will not happen again," I snapped, not liking being talked down to. Who did he think he was anyway?  
"No, it will not, because you won't have a second chance," he said, his face hard.  
I froze. What! How dare he! I didn't care who he was, he was not taking away my chances of returning home. I was the crown prince, or had he forgotten that? Forgotten or not though, he had control over me until I was home. And once I was, I swore I was going to make sure Drake was ripped apart slowly, limb from limb.  
"Commander Drake, I've been hunting the Avatar for two years and I…"  
Drake turned on me angrily, flames erupting from his hand as he swept it in an arc from left to right.  
"And you failed!" he yelled. He walked over until he towered over me. "Capturing the Avatar is too important to leave in a teenager's hands. She's mine now."  
No. She was not.  
I launched myself at Drake in frustration and anger, but I was restrained by the two guards standing behind my chair.  
Drake spoke to the guards as he turned to leave. "Keep them here."  
In a further act of frustration, I kicked over a small table that had been sitting near Uncle. It broke into pieces while Uncle watched the scene calmly.  
"More tea please?" he asked as his tea spilled over.  
I glared furiously around the room.

Kole:

We walked into the sanctuary, marveling at the many statues arrayed in a pattern. The pattern was tied to a swirl pattern on the floor with the statues arrayed along it. We walked among the statues, heading to the center of the room.  
"Statues?! That's it? Where's the meat?" Alana asked, sounding like she had just been robbed.  
Kole and I ignored her as we came to a stop in the center of the room.  
"Who are all these people?" Kole asked.  
"I'm not sure, but it feels like I know them somehow. Look!" I pointed to a statue. "That one's an airbender!"  
Kole pointed at one. "And this one's a waterbender. They're lined up in a pattern. Air, water, earth and fire."  
"That's the Avatar cycle," I pointed out.  
"Of course! They're Avatars. All these people are your past lives, Odette," he said, astounded.  
"Wow! There's so many!" I said, looking up at the many tiers of statues. There had to be thousands there.  
"Past lives? Kole, you really believe in that stuff?" Alana asked skeptically.  
He nodded. "It's true. When the Avatar dies he's reincarnated into the next nation in the cycle."  
I stopped in front of a statue of a firebender Avatar with a long beard. A light passed over its eyes, and I stared right back at the man. Kole appeared behind me and shook me by the shoulders.  
"Odette, snap out of it!" he said, worried.  
I shook my head and blinked, dazed. "Huh?"  
He nodded at the statue. "Who is that?"  
"That's Avatar Koren, the Avatar before me," I said automatically, not even thinking about it.  
"You were a firebender? No wonder I didn't trust you when we first met," Alana said accusingly.  
Kole looked around. "There's no writing. How do you know his name?"  
I shook my head and frowned slightly, wondering the same exact thing. "I'm not sure...I just know it somehow."  
Alana growled in frustration. "You just couldn't get any weirder!"  
Just then, I sensed the presence of another being and turned to look at the entrance, the others following my lead. A long, pointy-eared shadow advanced toward us.  
Immediately, we huddled behind two of the statues, Kole and I behind one on the left, Alana behind one on the right. The shadow advanced between the two statues.  
"Firebender. Nobody make a sound," Alana whispered.  
"You're making a sound!" Kole said, exasperated.  
"Shhh!" Alana and I said at the same time, tensing as the shadow continued to creep closer.  
"That firebender won't know what hit 'em," Alana whispered, ready with her weapons.  
The shadow was now right on top of us. Alana waited a few more moments, and then jumped out from the statue, weapon at the ready. Kole and I also came around to look and we all blinked in surprise, each registering the diminutive stature of the adorable intruder.  
It was a small grey and white wolf-like creature that only came up to about my hips. It was looking at us with wide blue eyes. His ears bent down slightly when he saw us looking at him.  
"Wolf!" I cried, smiling happily. I used to love these little guys.  
My smile dropped when I looked over and saw Alana drooling. "Dinner…"  
"Don't listen to her! You're going to be my new pet," I told the little wolf.  
"Not if I get him first!" she snapped at me.  
We both lunged at the animal, our arms outstretched for it as we rapidly closed in on her. The wolf's soft fur bristled and it dashed away from them, making little yelping noises. We were both still running after the wolf who was now bolting out of the temple.  
"Wait! Come back!" I called after it.  
"I wanna eat you!" Alana second.  
Alana and I ran back down the hallway from the Temple Sanctuary, chasing after the wolf. Both of us took turns leading the other. Alana took a swipe at my legs with her weapon, but I used my airbending skills to run along the wall beside Alana and passed her, laughing as I did so.  
Once far enough ahead, I stopped, turned, and launched an airball spinning back toward Alana. It hit her in the stomach and knocked her off her feet, like a bowling ball hitting one lone pin.  
"Oof!" she cried as she hit the floor, falling flat on her face, her hood falling over her head.  
The hallway ended at a balcony and the wolf jumped up onto the guardrail, looked back as I approached, and then jumped off. I jumped off after him, ready for the long fall beneath us. I laughed as I fell, bouncing off the rocks beneath me as I continued to chase the wolf.  
"Hey! No Fair!" Alana yelled at me.  
My eyes were watering from the tremendous speed my body was falling at and I smiled widely.

Ren:

The guards drew their spears back and for a moment, I thought it was okay for us to leave. But then my hopes deflated again when I saw it was just Drake, probably coming to give me a few parting words.  
"My search party is ready," he announced and I gnashed my teeth together in agitation.  
I was sitting in and uncomfortable chair, my uncle in a separate chair straight across from me.  
"Once I'm out to sea, my guards will escort you back to your ship and you'll be free to go," he said.  
I snorted. "Why? Are you worried I'm going to try and stop you?"  
"You? Stop me? Impossible," he replied, laughing hysterically.  
That's it. I was tired of this fool taking me for granted and treating me like a child!  
I jumped up in defiance and glared icily at him. "Don't underestimate me, Drake. I will capture the Avatar before you."  
My uncle got to his feet as well. "Prince Ren, that's enough!"  
"You can't compete with me. I have hundreds of warships under my command, and you...you're just a banished prince. No home. No allies. Your own father doesn't even want you."  
That was a low blow. And it angered me even more.  
"You're wrong. Once I deliver the Avatar to my father he will welcome me home with honor and restore my rightful place on the throne," I hissed.  
"If your father really wanted you home, he'd have let you return by now, Avatar or no Avatar, but in his eyes you are a failure and a disgrace to the Fire Nation," he said snarkily.  
"That's not true," I snapped back, not believing his words for a second.  
"You have the scar to prove it."  
With a cry of indignation, I launched myself to my feet, bringing my face within inches of Drake's. "Maybe you'd like one to match!"  
"Is that a challenge?"  
"An agni kai. At sunset," I snarled at him, barely being able to stop myself from blasting him right now. But I had not been taught to fight dirty; I would not attack unless my opponent was ready. As long as that opponent wasn't the Avatar, of course.  
"Very well. It's a shame your father won't be here to watch me humiliate you. I guess your uncle will do," he said, smug. Drake turned and walked back out of the tent.  
My uncle was shaking his head in disappointment. "Prince Ren, have you forgotten what happened last time you dueled a master?"  
I looked down, feeling my scar burn at the memory.  
"I will never forget."

Odette:

I dashed down a stone clearing that had an ascending stone staircase. The wolf that I had been chasing landed on the ground. I pounced him and missed again. The wolf ran through a curtain made of decaying tent material.  
"Hey! Come back!" I called.  
I followed the wolf to the other side of the curtain.  
"Come on out, little wolf. That hungry girl won't bother you anymore," I said cheekily.  
I approached another drape, parted it, and walked through. I drew a sharp breath, startled by what I saw. Heaps upon heaps of firebender uniforms and skeletons covered the floor of the decaying building.  
"Firebenders? They were here?" I whispered in surprise, looking around in horror.  
At the back of the grotto lay the skeletal remains of an airbender monk, bathed in the sunlight coming from above, who had Emrysrently fallen in combat fighting against great odds. I recognized the necklace around the monk's neck and my eyes immediately watered painfully.  
"Athos…" I whispered in a broken voice as the pain came in crippling waves.  
I fell to my knees, devastated.  
Alana came then, pulling back the curtain. "Hey Odette, you find my dinner yet?"  
I ignored her as I tried to sort through the pain, my head in my hands as I cried. Everyone I had loved, everyone I had known . . . was dead. . .  
"Odette, I wasn't really going to eat the wolf, okay?"  
She must have seen my old mentor's skeleton. "Oh, man...come on, Odette, everything will be all right. Let's get out of here," she said, her voice saturated with sympathy that I didn't want.  
Alana put her hand on my shoulder and I exploded in rage, feeling the Avatar power overcome me once more. I lifted my head, feeling the rage on my face. Alana gasped as she looked on in alarm.  
A whirlwind began to form at my feet, air swirling fast around the bones lying on the ground. I was in a crouched position, my hands balled into fists as the wind picked up at terrible speed around me. I knew my tattoo's and my eyes were glowing a bright incandescent blue.  
"Odette! Come on, snap out of it!" Alana screamed at me over the wind.  
A light blue sphere of energy surrounded me and began to expand, knocking Alana back out of the building.  
"Aaaahhhh!" she cried out.  
The energy sphere expanded to the point where it blew most of the building apart, sending smoke and debris high into the air. Alana landed outside the building. Kole joined Alana behind some rubble, both shielding their faces from the wind.  
"What happened?" Kole yelled.  
"She found out firebenders killed Athos," Alana yelled back.  
"Oh no, it's her avatar spirit! She must have triggered it! I'm gonna try and calm her down."  
Alana was hanging onto the rubble, trying not to get blown away. "Well, do it before she blows us off the mountain!"  
Kole slowly approached me, struggling against the wind, as I and my energy sphere slowly rose into the air.

Ren:

I stood in a Fire Nation arena, a simple four-walled structure with watch fires on the four towers at each corner. There was one large open gate. The sunset was a glorious mixture of Fire Nation hues: red, orange, and yellow. Drake and I knelt, preparing for battle, Drake with four of his men in attendance and I with my uncle.  
"Remember your firebending basics, Prince Ren. They are your greatest weapons," Uncle reminded me sternly.  
"I refuse to let him win," I said, standing up as white hot rage coursed through me.  
My shoulder wrap fell to the ground ceremoniously as I turned to look at Drake. He stood and turned, his shoulder wrap falling to the ground, as well.  
"This will be over quickly," he remarked.  
Yes, I thought, it would.  
Atop the gate a gong sounds. We face each other and assume firebending stances. I fired the first shot which passed harmlessly to Drake's left. I fired again; this time it passed without effect to Drake's right. I fired several more, the last of which Drake blocked, satisfaction evident on his face. Frustrated and losing control of my breath, I moved towards my opponent, unleashing more fire from both my hands and feet. Drake dodged or blocked them all. Drake then crouched forward and shot flame at a point on the ground close in front of me.  
"Basics, Ren! Break his root!" Uncle shouted at me, his voice slightly worried.  
Drake fired many volleys of flame, alternating between his fists. I blocked each, but was slowly forced back. On the last volley Drake used both hands, knocking me over and sending me skidding backwards in the dirt. Drake took a flying jump at me, landing as I tried to get up, but I wasn't fast enough.  
Drake fired right at me and I rolled out of the way just in time. As I was getting up, I swept Drake's feet out from under him.  
I landed on my feet and a slight smile appeared on my lips. I was thoroughly pleased with myself. I was advancing towards Drake, using my feet to produce small waves of flame that rushed toward my opponent.  
Drake was caught off balance and wobbled slowly backward. I finally laid Drake out flat on the ground with a blast of fire. I rushed up to him, prepared to deal the final blow. But I paused, thinking of my own scar, thinking of all the pain and humiliation it caused me. I hated this man, but did I really want to inflict this kind of pain on someone else?  
"Do it!" he snarled at me, fury glinting in his eyes.  
I made my decision and released a blast that hit the ground next to Drake's head. He was unharmed, looking alarmed at the smoking hole next to his head. I stood erect, dropping my fighting stance.  
"That's it? Your father raised a coward," he sneered.  
"Next time you get in my way, I promise I won't hold back," I warned, turning my back and walking away.  
Drake got up and, with a howl of anger, unleashes a whip of flame right at my back from his foot. The flame is extinguished, however, as a hand closes over the foot.  
Uncle had moved between them to stop the dishonorable attack. We remained frozen for a moment before Uncle hurled Drake back into the dirt with little effort. I rushed to avenge the insult, anger bubbling through me. I should never have gone easy on this fool. But I was stopped by my uncle.  
"No, Prince Ren. Do not taint your victory," he said.  
He turned to face Drake, a look of condescension on his face.  
"So this is how the great Commander Drake acts in defeat. Disgraceful," he said, disgusted. "Even in exile my nephew is more honorable than you."  
I looked at my uncle in surprise at this comment.  
"Thanks again for the tea. It was delicious," he said.  
Uncle moved to leave and I followed close behind. Once we were outside, I finally spoke again.  
"Did you really mean that, Uncle?" I asked quietly.  
"Of course. I told you ginseng tea is my favorite," he said, being sly.

Odette:

I was still suspended in mid-air inside my ball of raw energy. The contained storm continued to rage as Kole and Alana clung desperately to the rocks.  
"Odette, I know you're upset…" Kole shouted at me calmly from where he was clinging to a rock beside Alana.  
"And I know how hard it is to lose the people you love. I went through the same thing when I lost my mom. Monk Athos and the other airbenders may be gone, but you still have a family. Alana and I, we're your family now," he said sincerely.  
Something that he said got to me and I felt myself calm down. He was right, they were my family now. I began to descend when he was finished with his statement. My feet gently alight on the ground. The wind died away. Alana and Kole came up to me, and I could still feel my tattoo's and eyes glowing.  
"Kole and I aren't going to let anything happen to you. Promise," Alana said gently.  
Kole took one of my hands in his own. The burn from the glow instantly faded from my eyes and arrow markings. Grief-stricken and exhausted, I collapsed into Kole's arms and I held him around his shoulders as we knelt on the ground.  
"I'm sorry," I said, tired.  
"It's okay. It wasn't your fault," Kole assured me.  
"But you were right. And if firebenders found this temple that means they found the other ones, too. I really am the last airbender," I said, the sadness welling up again. I was terrified by the fact that I was the last of my kind, and I was grieving for my lost kin.  
Kole held me tighter and Alana put a hand on my shoulder.  
Eventually, I wound back up at the Temple Sanctuary, where I stood once again in front of the statue of Avatar Koren. Kole came up behind me.  
"Everything's packed. You ready to go?" he asked softly.  
Still looking up at the statue, I said, "How is Koren supposed to help me if I can't talk to him?"  
"Maybe you'll find a way," he assured me.  
We both turned around to see a familiar furry creature in the doorway of the temple. The wolf had returned. He ran to Alana and deposited a bunch of fruits and nuts at her feet. Alana began to eat hungrily as the wolf dashed away. Kole and I watched with smiles on our faces.  
"Looks like you made a new friend, Alana," I laughed.  
"Can't talk. Must eat," she replied, her mouth crammed full with food.  
The wolf scurried up to me and sat down right on my feet, leaning its body against me and looking up with big blue pleading eyes. "Hey little guy."  
We found Emrys and left soon after that, the little wolf trailing after me. Emrysrently he had decided I could keep him. We all looked over the abandoned temple as we flew away. I gently petted the wolf's soft fur and he leaned his head on my knee.  
I looked down at him and smiled. "You, me, and Emrys. We're all that's left of this place. We have to stick together. Kole, Alana…"  
I turned to them and they were watching me, Alana still cramming food in her mouth.  
"Say hello to the newest member of our family," I announced, nodding to the wolf at my lap. When I said their names, the wolf stood and trotted over across the saddle. He licked Kole's hand, wagging his tail as he looked between Kole and Alana.  
"What are you going to name him?"  
I thought back to the air temple, and one of my oldest friends came to mind. "Fang," I said.  
Alana was poised to bite a fruit when suddenly, Fang jumped up and snatched it out of her open mouth. Kole and I began to laugh.  
As we flew away, I watched the temple recede in the distance. I looked back with sadness as the clouds finally obscured my childhood home from view.


	5. Chapter 4: The Warriors of Kyoshi

Ren:

I sat alone in my quarters aboard the ship. I was sitting in the lotus position in front of an altar with white candles burning in front of me. I had to get control of my temper, or else I would go insane. I was terrified that Drake might reach the Avatar before me, and I hated myself for being afraid. The light from the candles increased and decreased with my rhythmic breathing. I closed my eyes in meditation. I was finally calm and concentrated for once.  
That all shattered when I heard my door open behind me. Somehow, I knew it could only be my Uncle.  
"The only reason you should be interrupting me is if you have news about the Avatar," I said, my voice dangerously silky.  
He entered cautiously carrying a map. "Well, there is news, Prince Ren, but you might not like it. Don't get too upset," he warned.  
"Uncle, you taught me that keeping a level head is a sign of a great leader. Now whatever you have to say, I'm sure that I can take it," I said, perfectly calm.  
"Okay, then...we have no idea where she is."  
"WHAT?!" I yelled, enraged.  
The four candles flared to the ceiling with my wrath. I stood quickly and turned around to face my uncle, making my anger evident on my face. Uncle turned away from the flames and raised his right arm to protect his face. As the flames subsided, he pulled a fan out of his robes.  
Fanning himself, he said, "You really should open a window in here."  
"Give me the map!" I snapped, snatching it out of his hands.  
"I opened the rolled scroll and began to study it while Uncle continued to fan himself.  
"There have been multiple sightings of the Avatar, but he is impossible to track down," he informed me.  
"How am I gonna find him, Uncle?"  
I looked down at the map marked with circled Xs and dotted lines connecting the reported Avatar sightings. The lines zigzagged all over the landmass drawings.  
"She is clearly a master of evasive maneuvering."

Odette:

As we flew over the sea, Kole stared at the map in his hands, glancing between it and me with an exasperated expression.  
"You have no idea where you're going, do you?" he said.  
I turned my head back to answer him from where I sat at Emrys's reins. "Weeelll, I know it's near water…"  
"I guess we're getting close then," he said flatly, eyeing the endless expanse of water below us.  
I turned my head, back watching Alana as she concentrated on sewing Kole's pants, which he had torn yesterday while fishing. Fang was also watching her, sitting next to my left shoulder.  
"Fang, marbles please," I asked him.  
Fang nudged his nose my shirt pocket, making noises. He returned with a marble and dropped it into my outstretched palm, his tail wagging.  
I smiled eagerly and cupped the marble in my two hands. "Hey Alana! Check out this airbending trick!"  
I suspended the marble between my two hands and made it whirl around and around in mid-air. I was grinning happily at Alana, trying to get her attention. She was preoccupied, though, and did not look up from her sewing.  
"That's great, Odette," she said absentmindedly, not even looking at me.  
"You didn't even look," I accused, stopping the trick.  
She stopped her sewing and looked at me. "That's great!"  
"But I'm not doing it now," I pointed out.  
Kole was lolling at the back of Emrys's saddle with his arms crossed casually behind his head.  
He waved his arm dismissively in Alana and mine's direction. "Stop bugging her, airhead. You need to give girls space when they do their sewing," he said, mockingly.  
Alana stopped, her needle in midair, and turned her head towards Kole. Her face was a mixture of annoyance and anger.  
"What does me being a girl have to do with sewing?"  
He shrugged. "Simple: girls are better at fixing pants than guys, and guys are better at hunting and fighting and stuff like that. It's just the natural order of things," he said, a wicked gin on his face as he taunted her.  
"All done with your pants! And look what a great job I did!" she announced with exaggerated happiness. Alana glowered at Kole and threw his pants at him. They hit him in the head.  
"Wait! I was just kidding! I can't wear these!" He stuck his arm through the big hole in the seat of his pants. "Alana, PLEASE!"  
I rolled my eyes at him. "Don't worry, Alana. Where we're going, you won't need any pants!"  
I gave a pull on the reins and Emrys and swooped down in the sky. While Alana and Kole had been bickering, a crescent-shaped island had appeared below. I landed us on the beach and we all hopped out. Snow-capped mountains were visible in the distance.  
"We just made a pit stop yesterday. Shouldn't we get a little more flying done before we camp out?" Alana questioned.  
"She's right. At this rate we won't get to the North Pole until spring," Kole agreed as they followed me along the beach.  
I shaded my face and looked out over the water. "But Emrys's tired already, aren't you girl? I said, aren't you girl?" I said again when she didn't respond.  
I nudged Emrys conspiratorially with my elbow. Emrys yawned on cue, but was obviously not actually tired. I stuck my thumb in the big dragon's direction, grinning.  
"Yeah, that was real convincing. Still, hard to argue with a ten ton magical monster," Alana said.  
I turned and gasped excitedly and pointed out towards the water. "LOOK!"  
A giant koi fish jumped out of the water. "That's why we're here…" I explained, stripping down to my wrap underneath my clothing  
"Elephant koi. And I'm going to ride it. Kole, you've gotta watch me!"  
I dove into the water, my breath catching in shock at how cold it was. A second later I leaped out again, catching a breath.  
"COLD!" I yelled, my teeth chattering. But I braved the cold water and swam out into the bay. I dove under the water and caught hold of an elephant koi. The giant fish leaped out of the water with me riding on its back, my hands grasping the dorsal fin. The koi dove back into the water, carrying me with it.  
When I the fish emerged again, I looked over and saw Kole watching me. He had an excited and interested look on his face, clearly enjoying my current antics. Alana, Kole, and Fang stood on shore and watch me. Laughing, I waved to Kole, liking the fact that I upped the antics on our crazy games. Ever since penguin sledding, we both had been trying to beat the other at who was more fun. I was pretty sure I was winning.  
"Woo!" he called out to me, waving back.  
"Yeeaaaah! Woohoo!" I shouted, laughing, ecstatic as I rode the giant koi fish. A couple of other fish followed behind, leaping in and out of the water.  
All the giant koi fish dove underwater, playing. Fang was jumping up and down on his paws, watching me intently.  
When we came up again, I grinned broadly at Kole, only to see him running towards the trees. Odette was disappointed that he was no longer watching. At least I had Alana and Fang though.  
Two of the koi, including the one I was riding, veer off to the right, suddenly and I almost slipped.  
"There's something in the water!" I heard Alana yell at me suddenly.  
The last koi fish tried to leap out of the water, but was pulled under. I suspected they were just playing with each other again and Alana was overreacting.  
Fang was distressed, jumping up and down and letting out strange little barks. Kole came back and ran up beside Alana back on the beach.  
"Odette!" Alana yelled at me again.  
"Get out of there!" Kole screamed with her.  
I was watching Kole, Alana and Fang on the shore. They were waving their arms and yelling to me while Fang jumped around madly.  
"Come back here! Odette!"  
"Odette!"  
I waved back at Alana and Kole, smiling as they cheered me on. The koi fish I was riding suddenly bucked and sent me headlong into the bay. I came up a second after going under and spurted water out of my mouth. I was breathing heavily and gasping for air. I turned around slowly to see what was behind me, feeling something brush my leg. My eyes widened and I screamed in panic as my eyes locked on the massive black dorsal fin that towered at least a hundred feet above me.  
I leaped to the surface of the water and began to run towards shore. The enormous fin turned and began to chase me, gaining on me. I reached the shore just in time, running head first and full force into Alana.  
I knocked Alana off her feet and we both crashed back towards the tree line. The fin turned and slowly headed back out to sea.  
Kole ran back to where Alana and I were. I was putting my clothes back on while Alana sat lumped up against the tree we had skidded into.  
"What was that thing?" Kole asked, a little breathless.  
"I don't know," I replied, still frightened by being nearly eaten.  
Alana got up and wiped her hands together. "Well, let's not stick around and find out. Time to hit the road."  
Suddenly, something grabbed Alana under her arms from behind. Another pulled Kole's hood over his head. Something grabbed me by my shirt. In a matter of seconds, we were all bound and blindfolded and thrown to the ground at the feet of our captors.  
All around me I could hear my companions hit the floor. Fang let out a little yelp. Both Alana and Kole let out a muffled "Ugh!" at the same time. I hit the ground face first, smacking my nose against the dirt painfully.  
"Or we could stay a while…" Alana said, her voice quivering.  
A short while later, we were tied up to what felt like a large pole, still blindfolded. We were pressed up against each other and if I nudged my food forward a little bit, I could feel Fang beside me, squirming around in what I thought to be a bag.  
As soon as we were secured to the pole, we heard a gruff angry voice speak.  
"You three have some explaining to do," a man said coldly.  
A second clearer male voice joined in. "And if you don't answer all our questions, we're throwing you back in the water with the unagi."  
"Show yourselves, cowards!" Alana snapped furiously.  
Suddenly, our blindfolds were removed to reveal five young men dressed in green.  
We were indeed tied to a large pole in a fenced clearing. We were on what looked like a snow covered mountain path, lined on both sides by the wintry forest. My eyes first fixed on who had to be the village leader. He had long gray hair, with a high poofy ponytail on top of his head. Then I glanced at the men again.  
Their faces were painted white with red around their eyes, and they carried fans in their waistbands.  
Alana strained at her bonds. "Who are you? Where are the women who ambushed us?" she snapped, obviously thinking it was just odd for women not to do the fighting. I shook my head. When was she going to realize that most women never saw a battlefield?  
One man stepped toward Alana and shook his fist at her. "There were no women. We ambushed you. Now tell us, who are you and what are you doing here?"  
Alana laughed disbelief. "Wait a second, there's no way that a bunch of boys took us down."  
The man grabbed her by the collar and shook her.  
"A bunch of boys, huh? And I suppose you think its women who should be out on the front lines? The unagi's gonna eat well tonight, little girl," he said threateningly.  
"No, don't hurt her! She didn't mean it. My sister is just an idiot sometimes," Kole spoke up, panicked.  
"It's my fault. I'm sorry we came here. I wanted to ride the elephant koi," I explained apologetically.  
The village leader was flanked by four of the female warriors. I peered around him curiously and saw the houses of the village.  
He pointed at me accusingly. "How do we know you're not Fire Nation spies? Kyoshi stayed out of the war so far. And we intend to keep it that way!"  
My face was a mixture of surprise and interest.  
"This island is named for Kyoshi? I know Kyoshi!" I said, excited.  
The man snorted. "Ha! How could you possibly know her? Avatar Kyoshi was born here four hundred years ago. She's been dead for centuries."  
I looked up and saw that the pole we were tied to was in fact a massive wood carving of Avatar Kyoshi. She was dressed in the same green garments as the male warriors who had captured us. Her face was painted white and there were two open fans in her hands.  
I looked down toward the ground and then back at the angry man.  
I took a small breath and went for it. "I know her because I'm the Avatar."  
The man who had threatened Alana wore an expression of shock and disbelief. "That's impossible! The last Avatar was an airbender who disappeared a hundred years ago," he snapped.  
I grinned widely. "That's me!"  
The old man narrowed his eyes and turned to the others. "Throw the imposter to the unagi!"  
He walked away as the male warriors assumed a fighting stance. Each warrior had two open fans in his hands. The four warriors moved menacingly toward us.  
"Odette...do some airbending…" Kole said tersely.  
I nodded, broke my bonds, and shot myself into the air. I back flipped over the top of Kyoshi's statue before floating gracefully to the ground amidst the 'oohs' and 'aahs' of the gathered crowd, which now included other members of the village.  
The younger man and his warriors gaze in shock and amazement at me.  
The old man returned with wide eyes. "It's true...you are the Avatar!"  
I nodded, giving him a serious look. To soften the tension, I pulled the marble out from under my shirt.  
"Now...check this out!"  
Grinning like a fool, I did the same trick I had tried to show Alana earlier.  
The villagers started cheering and jumping for joy.

Ren:

One night, while the cook was bringing me a dinner of cooked fish, he gave me a price of rather interesting information. He leaned down, not looking me in the eye and whispered to me. My eyes widened and I stood up angrily.  
"The Avatar's on Kyoshi Island?"  
Now I had that irritating little brat.  
I walked out of the room while speaking to Uncle. "Uncle, ready the rhinos. She's not getting away from me this time."  
He was sitting at the dinner table with the steaming hot plate of fish in front of him. He turned towards me and, pointing at the fish, began to speak.  
"Are you going to finish that?"  
I growled and stomped back angrily to the dinner table and grabbed the fish off of the table.  
"I was going to save it for later!" I snapped and stormed off with my meal, leaving my Uncle behind as he crossed his arms in annoyance and pouted at not getting to eat the fish.  
Let him sulk. He was fat and lazy enough already.

Odette:

As soon as the villagers realized who I was, we were led up into the biggest building in the village. There, we were led into a large room with soft looking beds and nice furniture.  
In the morning, we were greeted and asked if we were hungry. When we all said a hasty yes, the villager disappeared. A few minutes later, the villagers brought up a massive breakfast that took up an entire table.  
I watched happily through the large balcony windowas two villagers attended to the statue. One was painting a fresh coat of color on her face and the other was scrubbing the dirt from the back. Everything was peaceful and quiet out in the sunlight.  
I looked down and saw Emrys, lying on her side munching on fresh fish. Two villagers were caring for her. One villager scrubbed her scales and feathers and another was buffing Emrys's sharp claws. She grunted happily and was clearly enjoying all the attention.  
I turned and sat down between Kole and Fang who were already munching away at the food. The table was covered with eighteen different plates of food. A villager entered and placed another plate on the table before leaving again. I threw my arms up in the air happily.  
"All right! Dessert for breakfast!" I said, stuffing my face and talking around the mouthful of food. "These people sure know how to treat an Avatar!"  
"Mmmm…" I said, taking a bite of an orange flavored pastry. "Kole you've got to try these!"  
"Well, maybe just a bite…" he said and took the pastry from me as Fang seized the opportunity and snatched another from my other hand.  
I looked over at a disgruntled Alana who was sitting hunched and glowering in the corner of the room. "Alana, what's your problem? EAT!" I told her.  
"Not hungry," she said bitterly.  
I was shocked. " But you're always hungry!"  
Kole rolled his eyes. "She's just upset because a bunch of boys kicked her butt yesterday."  
"They snuck up on me!" Alana argued back.  
"Right. And then they kicked your butt," he replied, smug. At least she had gotten a taste of the real world for once.  
She got up angrily. "Sneak attacks don't count!"  
She paced around the room, gesticulating wildly to the air. "Tie me up with ropes! I'll show them a thing or two. I'm not scared of any boys."  
She had paced around to the breakfast table and was ferociously grabbing sweets off it. She began to lower her voice and talk to herself. "Who do they think they are anyway?" she grunted and shoved a sweet into her mouth. She walked off and out of the room, muttering, "Mmmm...this is tasty."  
I shook my head and smiled before returning to my meal.  
"What's he so angry about? It's great here. They're giving us the royal treatment," I said, pleased.  
Kole frowned at me slightly. "Hey, don't get too comfortable. It's risky for us to stay in one place for very long."  
I shrugged. "I'm sure we'll be fine. Besides, did you see how happy I'm making this town?" I turned around to look out the window again at the two villagers working on Avatar Kyoshi's statue. "They're even cleaning up that statue in my honor!"  
"Well, it's nice to see you excited about being the Avatar. I just hope it doesn't all go to your head," he said, a slight warning in his voice.  
I rolled my eyes. "Come on, you know me better than that. I'm just a simple monk."  
I stood up and went to the window. I looked down in surprise and confusion when I saw that the courtyard was full of boys from the village, screaming and cheering at me. Kole came up beside me and peered down unhappily.  
Unable to help it, my face broke out in a large smile and I blushed. Kole, standing slightly behind me, crossed his arms, stuck his tongue out and made a long, exasperated raspberry.  
As soon as I left the room later that day was immediately attacked by the gang of young people. I ended up having to run from them since there were so many, and they followed quickly behind.  
I ran back and forth across a little red bridge, trying to lose them. It worked until they trapped me at one point. The group ended up splitting and coming at me from both sides of the bridge as I stood in the middle of it.  
I jumped high in the air, hugging an airball as the groups merged together beneath me, waiting for me to come back down. It dissipated and I fell into the arms of the crowd below.  
After a few days, I finally got control of the crowds. Instead of attacking me, they just followed me around everywhere, it was rather amusing. One day, an artist approached me, asking if I would mind if he painted a picture of me. I gave him the okay and posed next to a waterfall.  
The artist sat at a rock and put up his paintbrush next to me as a reference for painting the scene. He lifted his paper to begin his ink painting, covering the spot where I was standing.  
"Painting the Avatar...that's easy enough…" he said, talking to himself as he painted.  
When he dropped his parchment for another look, he saw with dismay that three boys had crept into the picture with me.  
"Oh...there's another one...I'll make an adjustment here, and…" he muttered.  
When he dropped his painting again, there were four girls standing around me.  
"There's more...What…"  
When he views the scene again, it appeared that every teenager in the village had joined the group. He looked at us with utter disbelief and irritation.  
He walked away as the crowd all tried to get close to me. The girls collapse on top of me into a laughing pile.  
Just then, Kole walked past, carrying a basket and rolling his eyes.

Alana:

Everyone thought I was crazy for taking on man's work. But I was tried of everyone thinking and telling me that I didn't know my place. Well, I knew one thing was for sure. My place was out on the front lines and not in some house sewing.  
I walked to a small house nestled in evergreen trees, looking for that moronic band of boys who had jumped us yesterday. I approached the house muttering to myself about "boys."  
I walked up to the door and looked inside. The fan warriors were there, drilling. I grinned, put up my hands, and entered the dojo.  
In a bit of an arrogant manner, I strolled through and said, "Sorry boys! Didn't mean to interrupt your dance lesson."  
I stretched my arms and waist. "I was just looking for somewhere to get a little workout?"  
I bent over and grabbed my knees with my hands.  
The man who had grabbed my shirt yesterday spoke. I had heard that his name was Tarren. "Well, you're in the right place," he said.  
I continued to stretch in front of the warriors.  
"Sorry about yesterday. I didn't know that you were friends with the Avatar," he said sincerely.  
"It's all right," I said. "I mean, normally I'd hold a grudge, but seeing as you guys are a bunch of boys, I'll make an exception," I said, rotating my shoulders.  
"I should hope so. A strong intelligent girl like you? We wouldn't stand a chance," Tarren said sarcastically.  
"True. But don't feel bad. After all, I'm the best warrior in my village," I boasted.  
Tarren leaned toward me and smiled. "Wow! Best warrior, huh? In your whole village? Maybe you'd be kind enough to give us a little demonstration."  
"Oh...well...I mean...I…" I was uncomfortable now.  
Tarren turned to his warriors. "Come on, guys! Wouldn't you like her to show us some moves?"  
The group of warriors laughed and nodded affirmatively at Tarren's suggestion. I sighed walked towards him. Why did I always get myself into these things? Oh well, I could take them easily.  
"Well, if that's what you want, I'd be happy to. All right, you stand over there," I instructed. I grasped his shoulders and pushed him back a little, but Tarren didn't move. He didn't seem to notice or care.  
"This may be a little tough, but try to block me," I said.  
I threw a punch. Tarren blocked it with a deft thrust of his fan to my shoulder. His stance is disinterested and confident against mine.  
I rubbed my shoulder, blinking in surprise at his speed. "Heh heh...good. Of course, I was going easy on you."  
"Of course," he said coyly.  
"Let's see if you can handle this!" I snapped, lunging at him. He caught me under my leg and tossed me backward toward the door. I landed hard right on my tailbone.  
"That does it!" I growled angrily.  
I got up and lunged again at him. He grabbed me by the arm, spun me around in circles, tied my arm to my foot with my own belt, and threw me to the floor.  
Tarren stood over me, laughing. "Anything else you want to teach us?"  
My face flushed in humiliation as all the warriors laughed at me.

Kole:

I watched in annoyance as a group of boys and girls followed Odette around, who was eating up all the attention.  
"There she is, guys. Me in a past life," she said, stopping next to the statue.  
"Ooohhh…" they all said.  
"You were pretty!" one called out and she smiled.  
She turned slightly and spotted me in the market place. "Excuse me for a second."  
She walked over as I was filling a basket with vegetables. I pretended not to pay attention to her as she came. When she reached me, she tapped me lightly on the shoulder.  
I held back a sigh and turned around. "Oh, good! Do you wanna come with back to the room to work on some waterbending?" I asked.  
She shuffled her feet awkwardly. "Actually, I can't right now."  
"What do you mean you can't?" I said, irritated.  
"I promised them that I'd give them a ride on Emrys. Why don't  
you come with us? It'll be fun!" she said, tugging on my arm.  
I sighed and continued to pick up vegetables. "Watching you show off for a bunch of guys does not sound like fun."  
"Well, neither does playing with water," she replied hotly.  
"Odette, you have to learn it eventually. We need to get to the North Pole. I told you, we have to leave Kyoshi soon," I said.  
"I don't want to leave Kyoshi yet. I can't put my finger on it, but there's something I really like about this place," she said and shrugged.  
I looked behind her at the group of boys who had been following her around all day. They smirked at me and I glared at them. I had a feeling I knew exactly why she wanted to stay. All the attention had gone to her head.  
"What's taking you so long, Odette?" one of the girls called out.  
She shrugged and waved her hand. "Just a second, Koko!" she called back.  
"'Simple monk,' huh?" I questioned. "I thought you promised me that this Avatar stuff wouldn't go to your head."  
"It didn't. You know what I think? You just don't want to come because you're jealous," she said accusingly.  
I started. "Jealous? Of what?"  
"Jealous that we're having so much fun without you," she said arrogantly.  
"That's ridiculous," I snapped, putting the vegetables in the basked furiously.  
"It is a little ridiculous, but I understand," she said in a snotty voice and walked away.  
I looked angrily at her as her group walked away, still standing next to the vegetable stand. I groaned loudly, picked up the basket, and walked back to the room.

Alana:

After my humiliating encounter with Tarren, I decided I would go back after I'd had an hour to cool down. When my hour passed, I slowly walked back, feeling ashamed for being such an idiot.  
I paused for a moment, kicking a stone outside of the fan warrior's dojo. I took a deep breath and walked cautiously to the door. Tarren and his warriors were training again, but stopped when they saw me walk in.  
"Uh...hey, Tarren," I said hesitantly.  
"Hoping for another dance lesson?" he replied mockingly, his green eyes sparking.  
"No...I...well, let me explain," I pleaded.  
"Spit it out! What do you want?" he said sharply.  
I knelt in humility. "I would be honored if you would teach me."  
Tarren crossed his arms and glared at me. "Even if I'm a boy?"  
"I'm sorry if I insulted you earlier. I was wrong," I said quietly.  
"We normally don't teach outsiders, let alone girls."  
"Please make an exception. I won't let you down," I promised.  
He sighed. "All right. But you have to follow all of our traditions."  
I looked up, surprised he had said yes. "Of course!"  
He smiled smugly. "And I mean ALL of them."  
Fifteen minutes later I was standing in their green armor, which I now noticed looked a lot like a dress from the outside. I had the white face paint of the fan warriors. The rest cleared out and I was left alone with Tarren.  
"Do I really have to wear this? It feels a little...girly," I whined.  
"It's a warrior's uniform. You should be proud," he said sternly. "The silk threads symbolize the brave blood that flows through our veins. The gold insignia represents the honor of the warrior's heart."  
I stood proudly. "Bravery and honor."  
Odette walked by the door to the dojo. She turned and ducked her head in, smiling mischievously.  
She giggled before racing off. "Hey Alana! Nice dress!"  
My momentary pride was crushed by Odette's barb. Tarren was smiling at me and enjoying my discomfort greatly.

Kole:

I sat in the room alone, practicing my waterbending. A plume of water rose and fell from a small bowl in front of me. Odette entered the room just then and stood cockily in the doorway.  
"Kole, remember how the unagi almost got me yesterday?" she called.  
I answered without looking up from my bowl. "Yeah."  
"Well, I'm gonna go ride it now. It's gonna be REAL dangerous," she said.  
Oh great. That was just a wonderful idea.  
I refused to look at her. "Good for you."  
She was surprised. "You're not going to stop me?"  
"Nope. Have fun."  
She crossed her arms peevishly. "I will."  
"Great."  
"I know it's great."  
"I'm glad you know."  
"I'm glad you're glad."  
"Good!"  
"Fine!"  
She turned and storm angrily out of the room. I was still intent on my waterbending and did not look up at her. Just as she left, I let the water fall back into the bowl, crossed my arms, and looked at the door, worried now.  
She was just crazy enough to do something this stupid.

Alana:  
We circled each other with our fans unfurled.  
"You're not going to master it in one day. Even I'm not that good," Tarren said.  
"I think I'm starting to get it," I said, slightly losing my balance for a moment.  
I continued to practice the moves, and at the end of the set I accidentally threw my fan out the door and into a tree. Tarren looked out the door at the lost fan as snow fell from the branches above to bury it.  
He turned back towards me, smiling to himself. "It's not about strength. Our technique is about using your opponents' force against them. Loosen up. Think of the fan as an extension of your arm."  
Tarren assumed the battle stance and I set my face in determination. "Wait for an opening and then…"  
He lunged at me and I parried the thrust, knocking him off his feet. He showed his surprise and embarrassment as he looked up from his spot on the floor.  
I crossed my arms in a "so there" manner. "Hmm…"  
He gout to his feet, flustered. "I fell on purpose to make you feel better!"  
I laughed and pointed my finger at him. "I got you! Admit I got you!"  
Tarren laughed as he grabbed my outstretched hand and bent it back painfully. "Okay, it was a lucky shot. Let's see if you can do it again," he said, letting me go.  
We assumed battle positions and began to circle each other again.

Kole:

After about an hour of sulking around the room, I decided that I would go find Odette and talk to her. I walked down to the beach and saw her in the water, swimming in one spot. One the beach, her little group was leaving, looking board.  
"Sorry, Odette! Maybe next time," one called.  
She looked disappointed.  
As the last of the group left, I walked onto the beach.  
She saw me and excitedly waved. "Kole! You came!"  
"I wanted to make sure you were safe. You really had me worried."  
"Back there you acted like you didn't care," she said, confused.  
"I'm sorry," I said, realizing what a terrible friend I had been.  
"Me too. I did let all that attention go to my head. I was being a jerk," she said guiltily.  
"Well, get out of the water before you catch a cold, you big jerk!" I called, laughing.  
She grinned widely as she began to swim toward shore. "On my way!  
As she swam towards land, I froze as the unagi came up behind her and caught her in its wake. As the unagi rose from the water, Odette was kneeling on a portion of its tail. It raised its head and spewed a powerful jet of water directly at her.  
She leaped up and grabbed hold of one of the unagi's whiskers. It shook its head back and forth in an attempt to dislodge her. She screamed loudly as she swung back and forth right in front of the serpent's huge fangs. Even from the beach, I could see saliva dripping from the unagi's teeth and it wet its lips with its tongue.  
"Hang on, Odette!" I called to her from the shore.  
The unagi continued to shake its head and Odette was thrown into the water. She was unconscious as she came to the surface. Both the unagi and I rushed towards her. I reached Odette first and took her into my arms just as the unagi raised itself from the water. Panicked, I pushed the water forcefully in front of me and propelled both myself and Odette away from the unagi.  
It dived into the water and the force of its dive sent Odette and I flying into a small cavern. Angrily, the unagi shot water from its mouth and eventually sunk back into the bay. I peered over the side of the opening and saw with dismay Prince Ren's ship approaching the island.  
"Ren!" I gasped.  
Things just kept getting better and better.  
Ren's ship landed. The prow was let down and Ren rode out of the hull on the back of a war rhinoceros. He was accompanied by many men also on rhino mounts.  
"I want the Avatar alive," he called out to the others.  
I hide Odette in the cave as Ren and his army march towards Kyoshi. She was still unconscious.  
I shook her lightly. "Wake up, Odette!"  
I moved my hands up her chest and drew the water out of her lungs. She coughed and sputtered.  
"Kole...don't ride the unagi. Not fun," she said, blinking up at me.  
I laughed and helped her up.  
"What's going on," she said, putting a hand to her forehead.  
"Ren's here, he's looking for you," I warned her.  
Her eyes widened and she sighed. "Oh great," she muttered. She shrugged and stood up, grabbing her glider. "Here we go again."

Odette:  
"Come out, Avatar! You can't hide from me forever!" I heard him call as I flew overhead  
He turned to his men. "Find him."  
I watched as the men slowly spread out, searching for me. I had been told to wait until I was needed and the Kyoshi warriors would handle it till then. Speaking of which, I could see them now, darting between houses quickly.  
Ren's army began to search the town for me. Three war rhinos proceeded down the main street of the village.  
A green form rushed silently between the houses. Like one wave, the fan warriors jumped out from the roofs and attack Ren's army. Tarren headed directly for Ren. As he was about to land on him, Ren turned his rhinoceros and he was swatted out of the air by its tail.  
As he hit the ground, Ren aimed a fire blast at him.  
Alana stepped in between Tarren and the fire ball, deflecting it. Ren, taken by surprise, falls off his rhinoceros.  
"I guess training's over," Alana said, helping Tarren to his feet.  
Tarren, Alana, and another warrior cautiously approached the prone Ren. Jumping up suddenly, he spun around on his hands, shooting fire bolts out of his feet at the approaching warriors. He knocked them all to the ground and pulled himself to his feet. He leaped to the middle of the street.  
"Nice try, Avatar! But these little boys can't save you," he called out, his eyes darting around.  
It was obviously time for me to intervene.  
"Hey! Over here!" I called out, flying out from my spot on a roof and landing a yard away from him.  
"Finally!" he turned a smug grin on his face.  
We faced each other for a few moments before Ren let loose three consecutive fire balls from his hands. I dodged them and, using my staff as a helicopter, flew toward Ren. He shot another blast of fire, which knocked my staff out of my hands.  
I leaped away and picked up two discarded fans. Ren ran full force at me and I used the fans to throw an enormous gust of air at him. The air knocked him through the wall of a building.  
I dropped the fans and picked up my staff. I threw it into the air and flew over the now burning town. I looked behind me to see the statue of Avatar Kyoshi engulfed in a heavy heart, I landed next to Kole, who was helping a small child inside.  
"Get inside," he said.  
I turned to him sadly. "Look what I brought to this place."  
"It's not your fault."  
"Yes, it is. These people got their town destroyed trying to protect me," I said, feeling guilty. I should never have come to this place.  
"Then let's get out of here. Ren will leave Kyoshi to follow us. I know it feels wrong to run, but I think it's the only way," he said.  
I hung my head. "I'll call Emrys."  
Once Emrys was ready to go and everyone was on board, I was about to take off when I realized Alana was nowhere to be found.  
"Oh great," I muttered and ran back into the burning town. After a few moments of dodging fireballs and peeking behind houses, I found her, crouching behind a house talking with Tarren.  
I was about to go get her but stopped, listening for a moment.  
"There's no time to say goodbye," she was saying.  
"What about, "I'm sorry"?" Tarren asked.  
"For what?"  
"I treated you like a girl when I should have treated you like a warrior," he said guiltily.  
She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "I am a warrior. But I'm a girl, too."  
He blushed and gave her a slight push. "Now get out of here! We'll hold them off," he said.  
Suddenly a fireball exploded right above my head and I ran out to Alana.  
"Alana can we get a move on it!" I yelled before dashing off to Emrys and taking the reins as Alana ran up her wing.  
"Emrys, yip yip!"  
She grunted and flew out of the town. I looked down to see Ren watching us leaving.  
"Back to the ship! Don't lose sight of them!" he shouted.  
Kole and Alana were sitting in the saddle on Emrys's back. I was sitting behind Emrys's head with the reins in my hands, mentally kicking myself for my stupidity. My head was hanging down as I tried to push through my feelings. Kole leaned forward to speak to me.  
"I know it's hard, but you did the right thing. Ren would have destroyed the whole place if we had stayed. They're going to be okay, Odette," he said.  
Yes, they were going to be okay. And before I left, I was going to make sure of that. Without a word, I suddenly dove off of Emrys's head into the bay, setting my face with determination  
"What are you doing?!" Kole yelled at me.  
I disappeared under the water. Several seconds go by before the unagi burst out of the water, with me riding on it. I had hold of both whiskers and forced the unagi's head towards the burning town of Kyoshi. I pulled back on the whiskers and the unagi spewed water over the town.  
The stream continued long enough to put out the fires Ren and his army had began. Once I was sure that Kyoshi was out of danger, I let go of the unagi's whiskers, feeling a small burst of satisfaction when I saw Ren's unhappy expression as he stared at me. The unagi reared its head and I jumped into the air just as Emrys swooped, catching me in her front claws and flew off.  
I climbed into Emrys's saddle, bracing myself for a lecture from Kole. They all stared at me as I came up, dripping from the water.  
"I know, I know. That was stupid and dangerous," I said before he had a chance to speak.  
"Yes, it was," he agreed and pulled me into a tight hug. I blinked in surprise before hugging him back.


	6. Chapter 5: The King of Naliwen

Odette:

After about three weeks since Kyoshi, we arrived in the Earth Kingdom. We had decided to stop here, mostly because I had begged them to come with me so I could revisit some of my childhood memories.  
We landed not to far from my destination and walked a few minutes up a small hill. I smiled and spread my arms wide, seeing the city sprawling out before me.  
"The Earth Kingdom city of Naliwen!" I announced fondly.  
Just a short way across the valley in front of us, a walled city rested atop a huge rock promontory. It was accessible only by a narrow, switchback road. The city looked both impressive and impregnable.  
"I used to always come here to visit my friend, Bumi," I told them.  
"Wow. We don't have cities like this in the South Pole," Kole said, eyes wide.  
"They have buildings here that don't melt!" Alana said, amazed.  
"Well, let's go slow pokes! The real fun is inside the city!" I said.  
I launched myself into the air and landed farther down the hill.  
Kole called me back. "Wait, Odette! It could be dangerous if people find out you're the Avatar."  
Alana nodded in agreement as I came back. "You need a disguise."  
"So, what am I supposed to do? Grow a mustache?"  
They smiled at me evilly. A few minutes later, I was wearing a huge fake head of hair and mustache made out of some of Emrys's fur. I was scratching underneath the wig, uncomfortable.  
"Ohh, this is so itchy!" I cried. I turned o Emrys. "How do you live in this stuff?" She grunted at me in response.  
"Great! Now you look just like my grandfather," Alana said confidentially.  
"Technically, Odette is 115 years old," Kole said.  
I picked up my staff and, using a fake old woman voice, I said, "Now let's get to skippin', young whippersnappers! The big city awaits."  
I began to walk hunched over, using my staff as a walking stick. About a half hour later, we walked up the access road.  
"You guys are gonna love Naliwen," I said chatting animatedly. "The people here are the friendliest in the world."  
Just as I spoke, a rough voice was speaking loudly. We stopped short at the sound and looked up at the gate just up ahead. A merchant was trying to get into the city, but the three guards were giving him trouble.  
"Rotten cabbages! What kind of slum do you think this is?" a guard shouted at him.  
The guard was holding one of the offending cabbages. He crushed the cabbage in his hand and knocked those in the merchant's arms over the side of the access road. The guard then earthbent a lump of the ground, knocking the merchant's cabbage cart high into the air and over the side of the access road. The cart and all the merchant's cabbages plunged hundreds of feet to the valley floor below.  
"Noo! My cabbages!" the merchant cried out as he looked over the side of the road as he laments.  
I laughed nervously. "Just keep smiling…"  
I walked forward with a big smile, Fang trotting loyally at my feet. Kole tittered uneasily, but he and Alana followed. The guard who had just obliterated the cart walked forward to meet me. He earthbent a huge boulder out of the ground and held it over me head.  
"State your business!" the guard snapped.  
Wanting to have a little fun with these rude guards, I rushed forward out from under the rock in a move much too sprightly for my supposed age. I pointed an accusing finger at the guard and, using my old woman voice, I began to speak.  
"My business is my business, young man, and none of yours! I've got half a mind to bend you over my knee and paddle your backside!" I yelled.  
The guard dropped the stone behind me in surprise. I glanced behind me and saw Kole and Alana looking at me, both terrified at what I was doing.  
"Settle down, old timer. Just tell me who you are," the guard muttered  
"Name's Bonzu Pipinpadaloxicopolis, the Third, and these are my grandkids," I said, gesturing behind me.  
Alana came up, now smiling serenely. "Hi, Lilly Pipinpadaloxicopolis. Nice to meet you."  
The guard pointed at her. "You seem like a responsible young lady. See that your grandmother stays out of trouble. Enjoy Naliwen!"  
"We will," she replied.  
The guard motioned for us to pass. We walked forward into the city with Kole trailing.  
"Wait a minute!" the guard snapped and I froze. He grabbed Kole by the shoulder just after he passed.  
"You're a strong young boy. Show some respect for the elderly and carry your grandfather's bag," he said sternly.  
"Good idea!" I said, holding back a laugh.  
I threw the bag to Kole. We continued on through the gate, which was stone and consisted of three movable, interlocking stone walls. We all were shocked by the size and power of the fortification. The gates began to close again as we moved to pass through it. We made it inside the gate and looked over a railing at the interior of the city. There were many houses with roofs painted in Earth Kingdom green. There were chutes all over the city with crates and packages sliding along them. While I was speaking, I pointed to earthbenders working the delivery system as I explained the mechanics of the system to Kole and Alana.  
"This is the Naliwen delivery system. Miles and miles of tubes and chutes. Earthbending brings the packages up and gravity brings them down."  
"Great, so they get their mail on time," Alana said, sarcastic.  
I nodded. "They do get their mail on time, but my friend Bumi found a better use for these chutes…"  
I smiled mischievously as I faded into another one of my flashbacks.  
A young boy with spiky orange hair tied with a headband looked out over the city. The boy, Bumi, had a missing tooth and a slightly insane facial expression.  
"Look around you, what do you see?" he asked me.  
"Umm...the mail system?"  
Conspiratorially he said, "Instead of seeing what they want you to see, you gotta open your brain to the possibilities."  
I thought for a moment. "A package sending system?"  
"The world's greatest super slide!" he said, excited.  
I looked down at the top of the chute we were looking at. Now that I was thinking about it, it really did look like a humongous slide. It was a very tempting idea.  
"Bumi, you're a mad genius!" I cheered.  
Bumi smiled widely, laughing and snorting.  
We got in one of the transport bins and with a little push of air, were rocketing down the slide, laughing hysterically.  
I blinked my eyes as I came back to reality. Without missing a beat, I led them to the exact spot where Bumi and I had stood all those years ago. After a minute of convincing them to get in, they finally joined me. I was excited as we teetered on the edge, but the other two seemed to be a little leery.  
"One ride, then we're off to the North Pole, Airbender's honor," I promised them.  
"This sounded like fun at first, but now that I'm here, I'm starting to have second thoughts!" he said nervously, peering down the long shoot.  
As he finished his sentence, I looked down with him, not hard to do since I was sitting in the front. It was a bit intimidating, I had to admit.  
He'd get over it.  
Without giving him a chance to say anything else, I pushed forward and the bin dropped into the chute and they rocketed away. As we accelerated down the chute, a neighboring chute became visible, clearly going to merge with ours. A rack of spears was dropping down this other chute and after the two paths merged, Alana was soon ducking to avoid getting killed. Kole and Alana started making distressed noises as they tried to avoid the spears.  
I rolled my eyes. "I'm on it! I'm on it!"  
I started rocking the bin back and forth in the chute. I soon derailed us out of the chute and our bin freefell onto a rooftop below before sliding downward. Below, I saw a group of Earth Kingdom soldiers being addressed by an officer.  
When our bin fell right in front of them, they all jumped in surprise. I grabbed the front of the bin and was trying to pull it up, my foot in Kole's face. Alana was panicking in the back. I airbent to propel the bin back into the air once again. Within a few minutes of jumping around, I finally managed to get us back on a chute.  
"Odette, do something! Use your airbending!" he yelled.  
"Yeh! Good idea! That'll make us go even faster!" I called back, wondering why I hadn't thought of that.  
I blasted air behind us, making us speed up. The city dwellers looked at us in alarm as we whizzed by down the chute. As we approached the drop down of the last major chute, we all screamed as we see the off-load point just in front of us. The off-load had a package on it that we would hit. An earthbender next to it moved the package before we collided and we breathed a sigh of relief.  
Our relief was short-lived though as the earthbender raised another package into the off-load point. We screamed again in panic. Rather than hit the package, we hit the side of the trench and ran off the track again. We all fell out but I airbent us each back into the bin. We bounced off a roof and into what looked like a man's work room, destroying his pottery, unfortunately. We bounced of his floor and out the window opposite the one we came in.  
"Sorry!" I called out as we dropped into someone's living room and flew through their house. Outside, we crashed through the wall of the balcony and dropped again, screaming.  
Just below us was the merchant from before, cradling his cabbages fondly. He looked up and jumped back just as the bin fell onto the cabbage cart, totally destroying it, blowing cabbages all over the place. We landed in a heap and my disguise was now gone.  
"My cabbages! You're gonna pay for this!" the merchant cried furiously.  
We were quickly surrounded by soldiers and I looked up sheepishly  
"Two cabbages please," I ordered, my heart sinking into my shoes.  
A short while later, we were led in to the king's throne chamber. It was decorated in shades of Earth Kingdom green. The aged king sat on his throne in the distance, for it was a large room. I peered closer at the ancient king and saw with amazement that he wore the same crazy expression as Bumi had in my flashback. But he had to be long dead by now. There was no way this king could possibly be Bumi.  
The King looked upon us, and the guards behind us forced us to kneel.  
"Mmmm?" he muttered.  
"Your majesty, these juveniles were arrested for vandalism, traveling under false pretenses and malicious destruction of cabbages," a guard reported.  
I glanced over at the irritated cabbage merchant who glared back at me.  
"Off with their heads! One for each head of cabbage!" he screeched and I flinched.  
"Silence! Only the King can pass down judgment. What is your judgment, Sire?" the guard asked.  
We all looked up at him with pleading eyes. He looked at each of us in turn. Alana was nervous, Kole hopeful, and I just tried to act like I was invisible.  
"Throw them...a feast!" he said cheerfully.  
The guards made noises of surprise, the merchant of chagrin.  
"Huh?" I asked, completely confused.  
Within minutes, we were seated at a table loaded with food. Fang ate goodies on the right side of the table wile I saw in the middle, Kole and Alana on either side of me. Behind us the king stood.  
H laughed. "Heheh! The people in my city have gotten fat from too many feasts, so I hope you like your chicken with no skin."  
He said, waving a leg in front of my. I wrinkled my nose in distaste.  
"Thanks, but I don't eat meat," I replied, turning it down politely.  
He turned to Alana. "How about you? I bet you like meat." He stuck the drumstick in her mouth before she could answer.  
"Mmmm!" she said as she started chewing happily.  
"Is it just me, or is this guy's crown a little crooked?" Kole asked, leaning over to whisper in my ear. He made cuckoo motions at the side of his head as he spoke.  
I shrugged, watching the king as he took his seat at the opposite end of the table.  
He turned to me, his green eyes narrowed slightly. "So, tell me young girl. Where are you from?"  
"I'm from...Kangaroo Island," I lied as smoothly as I could.  
"Oh, Kangaroo Island, eh? I hear that place is really hoppin!" he said, grinning.  
We all stared at him blankly. The silence was broken by Alana's laughter, and we look at her like she had grown a third head.  
"What? It was pretty funny," she said defensively.  
The king yawned tiredly. "Well, all these good jokes are making me tired. Guess it's time to the hay."  
As he ended his sentence, he suddenly threw another drumstick at me. Without even thinking about my actions, I airbent it to a standstill, surprised. It spun in the air in front of me and the guards drew breath in surprise.  
"There's an airbender in our presence and not just any airbender, the Avatar!" the king announced to everyone in the room.  
He stood and I dropped the drumstick, trying to act like I had not just revealed myself.  
"Now what do you have to say for yourself, Mr. Pipinpadaloxicopolis?" the king asked shrewdly.  
I sighed, knowing it was useless to try and worm out of things now. I stood and spread my arms wide in a gesture of defeat.  
"Okay! You caught me. I'm the Avatar, doing my Avatar thing, keeping the world safe." I peaked under the table. "Everything checks out, no firebenders here. So, good work everybody," I said, pleased. I put my arms around my companions and together we stood. "Love each other, respect all life and don't run with your spears. We'll see you next time!"  
We had been walking backwards to the door, but the guards stopped us.  
"You can't keep us here. Let us leave," Kole snapped.  
"Lettuce leaf?" the king asked as he picked up a lettuce leaf from the plate in front of him and took a bite.  
Alana leaned over to speak in a low voice to us.  
"We're in serious trouble. This guy is nuts!"  
The king turned to us, now very serious. "Tomorrow the Avatar will face three deadly challenges. But for now, the guards will show you to your chamber," he said and I blinked in surprise. No I was not!  
"My liege, do you mean the good chamber, or the bad chamber?"  
"The newly refurbished chamber," he replied.  
"Wait, which one are we talking about?"  
The king shook his head. "The one that used to be the bad chamber, until the recent refurbishing that is. Of course, we've been calling it the new chamber, but we really should number them. Uh, take them to the refurbished chamber that was once bad!"  
We were quickly led out by guard. We walked a short while down dark hallways until we reached a dead end. The wall was torn open by earthbending and revealed a large room. We were thrust in and the "door" was closed behind us. The chamber was beautiful, spacious and furnished with three comfortable beds.  
"This is a prison cell? But it's so nice," Kole said, looking around in amazement.  
"He did say it was newly refurbished," I pointed out.  
"Nice or not, we're still prisoners," Alana said darkly.  
My mind wandered to the coming day and I nervously paced around the room. "I wonder what these challenges are gonna be."  
Kole shook her head. "We're not sticking around to find out. There's gotta be some way outta here."  
I looked around for a moment them smiled and pointed. "The air vents!"  
"If you think we're gonna fit through there then you're crazier then that king," Alana said, looking at the small circular hole in the wall.  
"We can't, but Fang can," I explained.  
Fang was sprawled on the bed, his tail flicking happily as he gorged on an apple, his tongue still licking the fruit.  
"Fang, I need you to find Emrys and bust us outta here!"  
I picked him up and walked over to the wall before stuffing him face first into the vent. He only made it about halfway in before he stopped moving.  
"Go on, boy, get Emrys!"  
I stopped, only to have Fang's behind dangle from the vent. He was stuck.  
Alana shrugged. "Eh, how was Emrys supposed to save us anyway?"  
I replied as I pulled Fang from the vent. "Emrys is a ten ton dragon; I think she could figure something out."  
"Well, no point in arguing about it now," Kole said, getting into a bed. "Get some rest, Odette. Looks like you'll need it for tomorrow."  
I walked dejectedly over to the last unoccupied bed and promptly fell asleep. I was awoken only what felt like minutes later as the room shook. I jumped up with a start to see an earthbender opening the door. I looked around and saw with fear that the other beds were empty.  
"Alana! Kole!" I turned to the guards angrily. "Where are my friends?"  
"The King will free them if you complete your challenges."  
I narrowed my eyes. "And if I fail?"  
"He didn't say. Your staff please?"  
I gave the staff to the guard, a little hesitant to give up my only weapon.  
I entered the throne room flanked by two guards. The king stood in the middle of the room, wearing a horrible, blue, purple and light green robe.  
"First, Avatar, what do you think of my new outfit? I want your honest opinion," he said, showing off his clothes.  
I blanked. I wasn't going to tell him my honest opinion, mostly because it wasn't all that good. A cough sounded behind me as I just stood there, looking blankly at the king.  
"I'm waiting," he said impatiently.  
"I...guess it's fine," I replied, grimacing a little.  
He clapped his hands together happily and jumped up and down for a moment. "Excellent! You passed the first test."  
"Really?" I asked, perking up. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all.  
The king seemed to think for a moment. "Well, not one of the deadly tests. The real challenges are much more...Challenging."  
Anger boiled through me and I airbent my feet to run in an instant up to the king.  
"I don't have time for your crazy games! Gimme my friends back! We're leaving!" I hissed, getting in his face.  
He tisked. "Ohh, I thought you might refuse…"  
At this moment a "door' was opened by guards holding Kole and Alana in the corridor off to the side. The guards placed small rings on one of their fingers which contracted to fit snugly as soon as they were worn. Alana and Kole struggle to take off the rings, but couldn't.  
"...so I will give your friends some special souvenirs. Those delightful rings are made of pure genemite, also known as creeping crystal. It's crystal that grows remarkably fast. By nightfall your friends will be completely covered in it. Terrible fate, really. I can stop it, but only if you cooperate," the king said kindly.  
I watched as the ring on Alana's finger grew a little and her face paled. "Ah! It's already creeping!" she whimpered.  
I sighed in defeat. "I'll do as you want."  
The king grinned evilly. "Mmmm!"

Odette:

I stood in a new cavern half an hour later, on a small stone parapet with a waterfall running in the middle. The cavern floor was covered in stalagmites. In the upper left corner of the room, the king, the guards, and my friends stood on a balcony. Crystal already covered the forearms of both their arms.  
The king laughed. "It seems I've lost my lunch box key and I'm hungry."  
I looked up to the key hanging by a long chain in the middle of the waterfall. A ladder reached up from the ground of the cavern to about where the key dangled.  
"Ooo, there it is. Would you mind fetching it for me?" he said dramatically.  
Easy enough.  
I jumped into action. Using my airbending skills, I bounced from stalagmite to stalagmite. I charged into the waterfall, holding my breath, and began to climb the ladder. The force of the water stopped me from making any progress, though.  
"Ooo, climbing the ladder. No one's thought of that before," the king cajoled loudly.  
I lost my grip and was shot out of the waterfall. I was just about to get impaled when I recovered and slid between two stalagmites, one foot on the side of each. I breathed a sigh of relief and looked up at my friends, regaining my determination.  
This time I flew up to the stalactites on the ceiling and was soon looking down at the key. I concentrated, trying to set my mind, and jumped into the waterfall. I was immediately shot right back out and I managed to grab onto a stalagmite. I looked back up at the king and my friends. The crystal now covered them up to their shoulders.  
"That's right. Keep diving head in, I'm sure it'll work eventually," the king said, board with my angles.  
What he said though did give me an idea. I broke off the top of the stalagmite I was holding and threw it at the chain holding the key. Using my airbending, I made sure it broke the chain and it carried the bottom part of the stalagmite along with the key up to the balcony.  
The tip of the stalagmite embedded itself like a spearhead into the top of the doorway. The key now dangled just over the surprised king's head.  
"There, enjoy your lunch! I want my friends back, now!" I snapped, annoyed.  
He waggled a finger at me. "Uh, not yet. I need help with another matter. It seems I've lost my pet Flopsy."  
A minute later I found myself in the second arena. I looked around and spotted a cute little bunny rabbit with big floppy ears below.  
I jumped down into the arena and landed next to the rock the bunny was sitting on.  
"Okay, found him!" I announced.  
The king and my friends now stood at the railing around the top of the arena, watching me.  
"Bring him to me! Daddy wants a kiss from Flopsy!"  
I was just about it grab the bunny when suddenly a huge monstrous beast landed right behind me, making the ground vibrate slightly with his impact. The beast looked like an overgrown dog of sorts, with fluffy ears and big giant fangs. The little bunny squealed and took off.  
"Flopsy, wait! Flopsy! Flopsy!" I cried and dashed after it.  
I chased the bunny while the monster chased me, the king cackling maniacally the whole time. The bunny ran into a rabbit hole in the wall of the arena and I slid up next to it and stuck my hand in the hole. I rummaged around, but found nothing.  
Meanwhile, the monster closed in. I watched as the beast came closer, snarling madly, and I got another idea. I stood up and faced the monster just as it arrived.  
"Flopsy?" I asked nervously as it raced toward me.  
The monster stopped instantly and wagged its tail. The big animal picked me up tenderly, making gentle noises. I was a little surprised but laughed when Flopsy gave me a huge lick.  
"Flopsy!" I said, rubbing his head.  
The beast dropped me and scaled the arena wall in response to the king's whistling and kissing noises. He flopped down on his back in front of the king.  
"Awww, that's a good boy! Yes, who has a soft belly?" the king said as he began to rub Flopsy's belly. Flopsy's left leg pawed the ground in pleasure.  
I jumped up onto the railing of the arena and turned to my friend. Kole was directly in front of me, covered from head to ankle in crystal.  
"Guys, are you ok?"  
"Other than the crystal slowly encasing my entire body, doing great," he replied sarcastically.  
I looked over at Alana to see she was not in much better shape. A new length of crystal grew on the left side of Alana's head and she lost her balance and keeled over.  
I turned back angrily to the king who was still rubbing hit pets belly.  
"Come on. I'm ready for the next challenge," I said severely.  
The king kept up a string of crazy laughing as he led us into a third arena. "Ahhh! Hahaha!"  
We were now standing in an earthbending arena. It was ill-lit and largely featureless except for the dirt floor. There were two large balconies, the king and I in one, Alana and Kole - now encased in crystal except for their faces and feet - on the other.  
"Your final test is a duel and as a special treat you may choose your opponent. Point and choose," he said just as two enormous men showed up to flank the king. The champion on the left was a muscular man with a nasty smile and a huge axe. The champion on the right was a mammoth fighter who looked like he relied upon brute strength. I was terrified just at the sight of the two men.  
I thought about my two choices, trying to figure our which would cause me the least amount of harm and who I could beat quickly.  
"So, you're saying whoever I point to, that's the person I get to fight?"  
The king narrowed his eyes. "Choose wisely."  
I glanced between the two warriors one more time before my eyes settled on the frail old king.  
"I...choose...You!" I said and pointed at the king.  
His eyes narrowed and he smiled smugly. "Haha! Wrong choice!"  
The king, with some effort, corrected his lumped posture. He dumped his robes to reveal a surprisingly muscular physique for such an old man. He was clearly formidable and I recoiled, realizing my mistake.  
He was also Emrysrently a master earthbender, for he immediately stomped the ground, blowing me far out into the arena. I landed in the dust as the king launched himself off the balcony and landed close to me, laughing evilly while he stared me down.  
"You thought I was a frail old man, but I'm the most powerful earthbender you'll ever see," he said coldly.  
I gulped and nodded over at the balcony. "Can I fight the guy with the axe instead?"  
He shook his head. "There are no 'take-back-sees' in my kingdom. You might need this!"  
He motioned to a guard who threw me my staff. As soon as it was back in my hands, the king immediately launched several boulders at me which I dodged.  
"Typical airbender tactic: avoid and evade. I'd hoped the Avatar would be less predictable," he mocked and I felt a small burst of annoyance.  
He launched another boulder at me and I dodged and launched myself into the air.  
The king looked amazed. "Don't you have any surprises for me? Sooner or later, you'll have to strike back."  
He launched another stone at me which missed, but exploded upon impacting the ceiling of the arena. The debris knocked me to the ground and I lost my staff as I hit the rubble. I got back up and ran at him as he began walking around. With each turn he made a huge pillar of rock block my path. One of them caught me in the gut as it rose into the air.  
"Oh, you'll have to be a little more creative than that!" the king cried.  
I jumped off the pillar, riding one of my famous air balls. I rode the wall of the arena and approached the king from his right side. When I was close enough, I launched a huge gale at my opponent, who blocked it with a sheet of stone raised from the floor of the arena. A second later, he emerged from behind the stone shield, a smile on his face. "Did someone leave the windows open? It feels a little drafty in here!" He dropped his smile. "Are you hoping I'll catch a cold?"  
I glared and dropped off my airball as the king kicked over the stone sheet and began to raise it on earth dug out of the arena's surface. He shot the earth underneath the stone sheet at me which knocked me over and I smacked my head against rocks. The king struck the ground with his fist, sending a shock wave through the arena surface right at me. I flipped backwards and avoided the shock wave, but now was close to the rear wall of the arena.  
"How are you going to going to get me from way over there?" he yelled, laughing.  
A feeling of determination came over me and I began to run to my opponent. He used the side of his foot to dash the earth and the ground around me became quicksand and I fell in. The king raised two boulders and sent them to smash me as I struggled.  
I escaped just in time as the rocks smashed together, right where I had been only seconds before. I jumped straight at my opponent, unleashing a blast of wind that knocked him and the stone sheet he stood upon back against the wall of the arena.  
He raised one of the boulders from where he had just failed to crush me and pulled it back towards him at frightening speed. I saw it just in time and did a back flip that barely allowed me to get up and over the flying boulder. The boulder of course moved on to almost crush the king, but he broke it into many pieces as it reached him.  
With tremendous effort, he tore the entire gate area of the arena out of the ground and held it over his head. I screamed in terror and began to run in circles, creating a tornado. He threw the massive earth mound, but the tornado grabbed it and threw it right back at him. As it reached him, he bisected it neatly in two.  
Without missing a beat, I ran forward between the rock pieces and pinned the king with my staff. He smiled and looked up pointedly. I also looked up as a little piece of rock bounced off my head. I froze when I saw that overhead one of the two halves of the rock hovered, ready to crush us both.  
"Hehe! Well done, Avatar. You fight with much fire in your heart," he said and threw the rock to the side of the arena. He then fell backwards into the floor, disappearing and leaving a king shaped hole.  
"Huh?" I said, flabbergasted.  
I watched as hole opened up in the floor of the balcony near Kole and Alana and the king emerged, the hole closing instantly beneath him. I used my staff as a helicopter blade and landed on the balcony next to him. I noticed that the two were almost completely encased in the crystals. I had finished the tests just in time.  
"You've passed all my tests. Now, you must answer one question," he said cheerfully.  
I gnashed my teeth together angrily. "That's not fair! You said you would release my friends if I finished your tests."  
He waved his hands dismissively. "Oh, but what's the point of tests if you don't learn anything?"  
Alana groaned. "Oh come on!"  
"Answer this one question and I will set your friends free. What...is my name?" I balked. How was I supposed to know what his name was!  
He smiled as he left the room. "From the looked of your friends, I'd say you only have a few minutes."  
I turned to them, worried. "How am I supposed to know his name?"  
"Think about the challenges, maybe it's some kind of riddle," Kole said, thinking for a moment.  
"I got it!" Alana exclaimed.  
I turned to her, hopeful. "Yeh?"  
"He's an earthbender, right? Rocky! You know, because of all the rocks?"  
Silence, followed and I feigned a cough uncomfortably. That was the worse suggestion by far.  
"We're gonna keep trying, but that is a good backup," Kole said, looking at her like she had completely lost it.  
I thought for a moment, going over everything that I had gone through today. "Okay, so back to the challenges. I got a key from the waterfall. I saved his pet and I had a duel."  
"And what did you learn?" he asked me.  
"Well, everything was different than I expected," I replied, thinking back to Flopsy and how the king had transformed.  
A piece of crystal started growing some more, pressing into Kole's cheek. "And...?"  
"Well, they weren't straightforward. To solve each test, I had to think differently than I usually would. . ."  
"I know his name!" I gasped, realizing it as a big smile spread over my face.  
I practically ran to the king's room, the guards dragging Alana and Kole behind me. When I got there, I walked forward until I was standing in front of him. He came and stood a few feet away from me as well, once again hunched over and in his regular green robes.  
"I solved the question the same way I solved the challenges. As you said a long time ago, I had to open my brain to the possibilities," I said and winked. The king began to laugh and snort, just as the younger version had in the flashback.  
"Bumi, you're a mad genius!" I said and ran and hugged my old friend.  
"Oh, Odette. It's good to see you. You haven't changed a bit. Literally," he said, hugging me back tightly.  
He rubbed my head teasingly and I smiled, happy to find that not everyone I had known was gone. Kole and Alana approached, still encased in crystal. Kole's face was all that was visible and only Alana's mouth showed.  
"Uh, over here!" he called out, panicked.  
"Little help?" Alana yelped.  
Bumi made a pulling back gesture with a fist, shattering the crystal from around both water tribe members. Crystal flew all over and King Bumi caught a piece.  
"Genemite is made of rock candy," he said and took a bite. "Delicious!"  
"So this crazy king is your old friend, Bumi?" Kole asked, eyeing Bumi up and down.  
"Who you calling old?" Bumi asked, annoyed. He paused and sighed after a moment. "Okay. I'm old."  
"Why did you do all this instead of just telling Odette who you were?" Alana asked.  
"First of all, it's pretty fun messing with people, hehe, but I do have a reason." He turned to me. "Odette, you have a difficult task ahead. The world has changed in the hundred years you've been gone. It's the duty of the Avatar to restore balance to the world by defeating Fire Lord Zane. You have much to learn. You must master the four elements and confront the Fire Lord, and when you do, I hope you will think like a mad genius!"  
I smiled and clasped my hands together in thanks and bowed.  
"And it looked like you're in good hands. You'll need your friends to help defeat the Fire Nation," he said just as Fang came over and sat down at my feet, rubbing his head on my leg. I patted his pale grey head.  
"And you'll need Fang too," he said, smiling.  
"Thank you for your wisdom. But before we leave, I have a challenge for you!" I said coyly, grinning mischievously.  
Five minutes later, we were flying down a chute, King Bumi at the front, me in the back. We were both having a blast as the air rushed by us, just like when we were both still kids.  
At least, it was fun until we accidentally crushed a familiar cabbage merchants cart again.


	7. Chapter 6: Imprisoned

Kole:

Three days after we left Naliwen, we made camp in a small remote forest. After we spent a night there, the next morning Alana left to go find some food while Odette and I sat on a natural stone patio. A noisy little stream exited the ground from underneath the stone ledge.  
Hours later, I was folding my sleeping bag while Odette lied back in the exposed roots of an overturned tree, playing with strands of her hair. Alana came back a few hours later, carrying a sack in her hands. We both ran up to her eagerly, starving by now since it was well into the afternoon.  
"Great, you're back! What's for dinner?" Odette asked as we all sat down on the ground in a small circle.  
"We've got a few options. First, round nuts and some kind of oval shaped nuts, and some rock shaped nuts that...might just be rocks," Alana said and threw one of the nuts that might be a rock over her shoulder. It landed near Fang.  
"Dig in!" she said excitedly.  
Odette and I looked at each other then back at Alana.  
"Seriously, what else ya got?" I asked her.  
Alana peered with one eye into the bag, hoping to find something else. I sighed and watched Fang, who was eyeing the nut like object with suspicion. He growled and picked it up. He dropped it from his mouth on a nearby stone to no effect. He then picked it up again and rapped it hard on the stone.  
At that moment, a huge, startling noise disrupted the forest's calm. Everyone looked up at the noise, startled.  
"What was that!?" Alana exclaimed suspiciously.  
Another huge sound echoed through the forest, startling Fang again. He jumped of the little rock he was perched on and ran over to hide behind Odette as she pointed to the left side of the camp.  
"It's coming from over there!" she exclaimed, getting up.  
I followed and we rushed off in the direction of the noise, leaving Alana waving her arms at us.  
"Shouldn't we run away from huge booms – not toward them?" she yelled after us.  
We crept up behind a fallen tree and peered over cautiously, Alana soon joining us. We were looking down a river bed; the actual river had been reduced to a small stream. A young earthbender was practicing his art there, and we watched him move around a huge boulder.  
"An earthbender!" I exclaimed, amazed.  
"Let's go meet him!" Odette said, just as excited as I was.  
"He looked dangerous, so we better approach cautiously," Alana advised. I ignored her and walked over before she had even finished speaking, running way out into the river bed to address the young earthbender.  
"Hello there, I'm Kole! What's your name?" I called.  
The young earthbender looked over at me in surprise, dropped his rock and ran back down the river bed. As he ran, he earthbent a load of rocks into the riverbed, blocking pursuit.  
"Nice to meet you!" Odette called cheerfully after him, coming up to me.  
I kind of felt bad for scaring him off. "We just wanted to say "hi"'  
Odette perked up and turned to us excitedly, her grey eyes wide. "Hey, that guy's gotta be running somewhere, maybe we're near a village and I bet that village has a market!"  
I quickly caught on to her excitement. "Which means no nuts for dinner!"  
Odette darted off the way the earthbender had gone and I followed quickly, leaving Alana behind us.  
"Hey! I worked hard to get those nuts!" she said, irritated. I turned and saw her and Fang trudging along, downcast. "Ya, I hate em to," she muttered.  
A short while later, we were in a market in a walled Earth Kingdom village. Odette was running from stall to stall a stall. Finally, she settled on one stall and was busty trying out a hat that would hide her arrow marks.  
"Great hat. I'll trade you some nuts for it," she said cheekily. When she made the trade, she turned to a pouting Alana and laughed.  
I shook my head and turned around to scan the street, not really seeing anything that caught my interest. I was just about to turn back to the girls when I noticed the young earthbender from the river bed entering a nearby building.  
"Hey!" I called and ran after him. I opened the door and entered a long, mostly empty room with an older woman and the boy.  
"Hey, you're that kid! Why did you run away before?" I asked, stepping through.  
The boy looked flustered for a moment before he shook his head. "Uh, you must have me confused with some other kid."  
Just then, Odette and Alana stepped through the door.  
"No he doesn't, we saw you earth bending," Odette said.  
The boy gasped as his mother ran and shut the door and closed the blinds.  
"They saw you doing what?" she snapped, her hands still on the window sill as she slammed them shut.  
"They're crazy, mom, I mean, look at how they're dressed!" he pleaded, gesturing to us.  
We all looked at our clothing, a little self-conscious  
"You know how dangerous that is! You know what would happen if they caught you earthbending!" she hissed angrily.  
Just then, a heavy knock on the door was heard and Alana quickly parted the window blinds to identify the intruders.  
"Open up!" a gruff voice called.  
"Fire Nation! Act natural!" Alana whispered and we all rushed to assume "normal" stances.  
The boy's mother opened the door and a Fire Nation soldier entered. If it had been me coming through that door, I would have immediately thought our normal poses were not very convincing.  
Alana and the boy were examining a shoe, I was holding a bowlful of berries and had a handful already crammed in my mouth, and Odette was leaning against a wooden barrel, smiling goofily. The top of the barrel that she was leaning upon shifted and her hand went into the water up to her shoulder.  
"What do you want? I've already paid you this week," the boy's mother asked coldly.  
The soldier smiled nastily. "The tax just doubled. Wouldn't want an accident, would we?"  
The soldier produced a fireball in his hands and continues with his creepy smile. We all took a step back, from him. This guy seemed a little unhinged.  
"Fire is sometimes so hard to control," he said dangerously.  
The boy's mother's expression melted from defiance to fear and resignation. She walked over to a desk and then walked back to the soldiers, placing a small chest on a table. She opened it to reveal a few miserable coins. She took most of them out and gave them to the soldier. He dumped the small ones on the ground.  
"You can keep the copper ones," she said nastily before slamming the door behind him. We all glared hatefully at the closed door as the boy's mother picked up the copper coins.  
"Nice guy," Alana growled, angry. "How long has the Fire Nation been here?"  
"Five years. Fire Lord Zane uses our town's coal mines to fuel his ships," the woman replied.  
"They're thugs; they steal from us, and everyone here is too much of a coward to do anything about it," the boy said, his voice quivering with anger.  
The woman turned sharply to her son. "Quiet, Haru. Don't talk like that."  
I frowned, confused. Why were these people so afraid? "But, Haru's an earthbender, he can help."  
"Earthbending is forbidden. It's caused nothing but misery for this village. He must never use his abilities," she said coldly, shooting a glance at Haru.  
I blinked. How could anybody ask a bender to stop bending? If I had to stop, I think I would die.  
"How can you say that? Haru has a gift. Asking him not to earthbend is like asking me not to waterbend. It's a part of who we are," I told her.  
She shook her head. "You don't understand."  
"I understand that Haru can help you fight back. What can the Fire Nation do to you that they haven't done already?" I asked.  
"They could take Haru away! Like they took his father," she said bitterly, her voice cracking with pain.  
I felt a small stab of sorrow as I looked at Haru's pained expression.  
After that, Haru led us to one of the outbuildings of a farm not too far from his home. The inside of the barn like structure already had cots along with some farm supplies as well. We entered and the late afternoon sun poured in, spilling a bright orange color across the floor  
"My mom said you can sleep here tonight, but you should leave in the morning," Haru told us.  
"Thanks. I'll make sure Emrys doesn't eat all your hay," Odette said, looking over at her as her mouth was stuffed with hay. She looked over at Odette, who stopped chewing for a few seconds before she returned to the meal.  
Haru tapped me on the shoulder.  
"Hey, do you want to come with me?" he asked. I nodded and we left the group of buildings, Emrysrently going for a walk.  
I felt kind of awkward, wonder what he would want me around for, especially after I had been so rude. I decided to try and make amends.  
"I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I didn't know about your father."  
He shrugged. "That's ok. It's funny, the way you were talking back in the store, it reminded me of him."  
"Thanks," I replied, feeling a little less guilty.  
"My father was very courageous. When the Fire Nation invaded, he and the other earthbenders were outnumbered ten to one, but they fought back anyway," he said.  
I swallowed thickly, thinking of my own father, away at war. "He sounds like a great man."  
"After the attack, they rounded up my father every other earthbender and took them away. We haven't seen them since."  
"So, that's why you hide your earthbending?" I asked. We had now walked up onto the crest of a small hill that overlooked the surrounding countryside.  
"Yeh."  
He knelt down and began twirling some small stones while he spoke. When he was done, he turned the stones to sand, which fell through his fingers. "The problem is that the only way I can feel close to my father now is when I practice my bending. He taught me everything I know."  
I came up and sat next to him. I fished in my pocket for a moment before I pulled out the last piece I had of my mother. It was a pretty, simple necklace that fit perfectly around the throat. It was a pale blue color for the silk part and then at the center, a sparkling dark blue sea stone that was sewn tightly into it. One the small circular stone, the insignia of all the water tribes was carved into it.  
I held it out to show Haru. "See this necklace? My mother gave it to me, so that I could give it to someone someday."  
"It's beautiful."  
I sighed as pain saturated my voice. "I lost my mother in a Fire Nation raid. This necklace is all I have left of her."  
He nodded. "It's not enough, is it?"  
"No."  
We sat on the hill for a while longer, watching the fading glory of the setting sun. A short while later, I decided that I probably should get back to Alana and Odette. We were walking down a path towards an open mine entrance some way ahead. A loud bang suddenly came from the mine and rocks and dust came out of the entrance. The sound of an old man screaming could be heard.  
"Help!"  
"The mine!" Haru gasped and we both rushed toward it, running as fast as we could. At the mine entrance, the old man we had heard had almost been buried by a cave in.  
"Help me!" the man gasped out, stretching out a shaking hand.  
The ground still shook a bit, and more earth threatened to fall on and crush the old man. Haru tried to prevent any more earth falling on the man by bracing the collapsed mine entrance frame, while I tried to get him free.  
I struggled with it for a moment and realized that we weren't getting anywhere. "It's not working, we have to get help," I said to Haru.  
He shook his head, his arms buckling slightly under the weight of the rocks. "There's no time – pull harder."  
"Haru, there's a way you can help him," I said, my voice hard as I tried to knock some sense into him. If he didn't earthbend, the man was surely going to be crushed.  
"I can't," he said, his faced pained.  
"Please, there's no one around to see you, it's the only way," I urged.  
Indecision dominated his face for a few moments, but then he moved in front of the old man and turned to look back into the min entrance. He concentrated and with a quick move of his hands and feet, he pushed the obstruction of earth and stone back deep into the mine, freeing the old man.  
"Haru, you did it!" I cheered as we helped the old man up. Luckily, a small hospital was not too far off and after dropping the old man off, Haru and I parted ways. I returned to the barn, and he went to his house.  
When I walked inside, Odette and Alana were chattering animatedly wit Fang lounging in between them. When the door closed behind me, they looked up and stood.  
"Where've you been," Alana asked as Odette and Fang climbed onto Emrys and lay in her saddle. So, as everyone settled down, I recounted everything that had happened since I had left.  
"It was so brave of Haru to use his earthbending to help that old man," I said as I finished.  
Odette shrugged like it was no big deal. "You must have really inspired him."  
"I guess so," I said uncertainly. I thought it had to do more with his own will rather than my influence.  
Alana yawned. "Everyone should get some sleep. We're leaving at dawn."  
"Dawn? Can't we sleep in for once?" I whined, not looking forward to getting just a few hours of sleep.  
She turned to me with a swipe of her hand. "Absolutely not! This village is crawling with Fire Nation troops. If they discover you're here, Odette, we'll be eating fireballs for breakfast. Good night."  
I turned to her with a sly grin on my face. "I'd rather eat fireballs than nuts."  
"Good night," she growled.  
Odette and I laughed, then I blew out our lamp.  
The next morning, I was the first one up, right at the crack at dawn. Alana, despite her talk of wanting to leave as soon as possible, was snoring away loudly. I had to admit, I took a little too much pleasure in ripping the sleeping bag out from under Alana to wake her. But after seeing her expression, it was completely worth it. Her screeching at me woke up Odette and as the two go ready to leave, I went outside to fill up a barrel of water for our trip.  
I breathed in the fresh morning air as I walked up to a water pump, carrying a pot which I placed under the spout. Rather than work the pump, I decided to save time and waterbent some water out of the pump and into the jar.  
When it was full, I picked up the pot and as I turned to go back to my friends, I noticed Haru's mother looking out over the farm. She turned and it was clear she was and had been crying.  
As realization dawned on me, I dropped my water pot and it broke. I ran back to the barn, guilt tearing at me. I flung the door open and ran inside, tearing at my hair in shock and anguish.  
"They took him! They took Haru away!" I said.  
Odette jumped up, looking at me with concern. "What?"  
"The old man turned him in to the Fire Nation. It's all my fault, I forced him into earthbending."  
"Slow down, Kole, when did this happen?" Alana asked, putting a hand on my shoulder. She held my hand, genially concerned for once.  
"Haru's mother said they came for him at midnight," I told them.  
"Then it's too late to track him, he's long gone," she said, letting go of my hand and looking out the door.  
It was too late to track him. But I knew exactly how I was going to fix things.  
"We don't need to track him. The Fire Nation is going to take me right to Haru," I said, my voice hard with determination.  
"And why would they do that?" Odette asked.  
"Because they're going to arrest me for earth bending," I said, giving them each a hard look, daring them to try and stop me.  
The looked at each other for a moment, concern on their faces before they turned back to me.  
Odette stepped forward, her face hard with disapproval.  
"What do you need us to do?"

I grunted as Alana and I rolled a large boulder on top of an air grate.  
Alana huffed tiredly as we finished moving the boulder. She leaned back against it with a self-satisfied grin on her face.  
"I thought you were crazy at first, Kole, but this might work," she said grudgingly. "There are ventilation shafts throughout these mines, all Odette has to do is send an air current from that vent to this one right here. The boulder levitates and – tada! Fake earthbending."  
I turned to Odette, who was sitting by a nearby vent that she was going to airbend into. It was partially obscured from the path we were on by a large boulder.  
I looked at her, none-too pleased, and crossed my arms in irritation.  
"Odette. Did you get all that?"  
She was paying absolutely no attention at all. She sat cross-legged in front of the vent, blowing air at a little butterfly in front of her while Fang watched.  
"Sure, I got it," she said nonchalantly.  
Alana quirked an eyebrow suspiciously. "Do you remember your cue?"  
"Yeh, yeh, just relax. You're taking all the fun out of this," she whined, waving her hand.  
"By "this" do you mean intentionally getting captured by an army of ruthless firebenders?" Alana asked, her voice raised in disbelief.  
Odette smiled animatedly. "Exactly! That's fun stuff."  
"Here they come! Get in your places!" Alana suddenly cried. I turned and saw a band of Fire Nation Soldiers coming down the path.  
I backed up a few paces and just as the soldiers came into view, Alana ran in from the left side of the road and I from the right. We met right in front of the soldiers, perfectly on time.  
In a slightly exaggerated voice, Alana started yelling at me. "Get out of my way, pipsqueak!"  
"How dare you call me "pipsqueak" you giant-eared cretin!" I snapped back, my voice just as exaggerated. Odette had been right, this was kind of fun.  
"What did you call me?" she yelled back, furious.  
"A giant-eared cretin! Look at those things." I put my hands up to my ears and fanned out my fingers in imitation of huge ears. "Do herds of animals use them for shade?"  
"You better back off!" She placed her hand to partially block her mouth from the soldier's view. "Seriously – back off."  
I wondered if she was being literally serious for a moment or if it was just another part of our plan. I decided it was the latter.  
"I will not back off! I bet elephants get together and make fun of how large your ears are!"  
Alana glared at me. "That's it – you're going down!"  
"I'll show you who's boss – earthbending style!" I challenged as I assumed a mock earthbending stance.  
But nothing happened.  
I just stood there frozen, with the rock I was supposed to be "earthbending" still sitting over the grate. After a few moments of embarrassed silence, I repeated myself angrily.  
"I said, "Earthbending style!"  
I heard a slight gasp then suddenly the air rushed up through the grate and raised the rock to reveal Fang behind it.  
A wide-eyed soldier pointed at Fang. "That wolf! It's earthbending!"  
Alana rolled her eyes in exasperated. "No, you idiot! It's the boy!"  
"Oh, of course," the soldier muttered, embarrassed by his exclamation.  
I stood up straight as the rock dropped, pretending that I had just noticed the guards for the first time.  
Alana's voice became exaggerated once more and she slapped her hands on my shoulders.  
"I'll hold him she said before dropping her voice low so only I could hear. "You've got twelve hours to find Haru; we'll be right behind you."  
The guards came then and roughly tied my hands behind my back before leading me away. I turned slightly to see the two girls standing in the road, with Fang sitting between Alana and Odette.  
Alana rubbed one of her ears and turned to Fang. "Fang, you have some big ears!"  
I snorted and turned away just as we disappeared around the bend.

A short while later I found myself in the village's port where a Fire Navy ship was docked. I stared downcast at my shoes, irritated about having to wear a brown sackcloth over my normal clothing.  
I was in a wheeled transport with other prisoners being taken to the prison ship. Odette and Alana were in the crowd, watching me being taken aboard. We sailed out and once I could no longer see the strip of land, I would occasionally catch glimpses of Emrys following the Fire Navy ship from afar.  
We sailed until midday and by then, in the distance, a rig or offshore platform could be seen. This was the Fire Navy ship's destination, it had to be. As we docked, I got my first good look at it.  
It was huge, dark, industrial and foreboding. behind it, a bloody sunset cast its last rays of light over the complex. By the time the sun actually set, we were standing in a line up on the dock. The warden addressed his newest prisoners.  
"Earthbenders, it is my pleasure to welcome you aboard my modest shipyard. I am your warden. I prefer to think of you not as prisoners, but as honored guests, and I hope you come to think of me as your humble and caring host. You will succeed here if you simply abide –"  
His speech was interrupted by a prisoner sanding behind the warden who began coughing. The warden's look hardened instantly and suddenly, he leaped away from the prisoner line up, turned and firebent a hug gout of flame at the coughing prisoner. The targeted man jumped backwards with an alarmed cry.  
"What kind of guest dishonors his host by interrupting him!? Take him below! One week in solitary will improve his manners," the warden yelled angrily. He turned back to us, composed once more. He put his face up to mine, but still spoke to the group.  
"Simply treat me with the courtesy I give you and we'll get along famously. You will notice earthbenders, that this rig is made entirely of metal. You are miles away from any rock or earth, so if you have any illusions about employing that brutish savagery that passes for bending among you people, forget them. It is impossible. Good day."  
When the warden was done, he turned and left as the prisoners were led away. I glanced around hopeless prisoners on the rig, angry. Something had to be done.  
After trudging along for a few minutes, we entered an open area on the rig where hopeless and forlorn looking prisoners roamed around.  
I was thrust through a narrow door and out into the open area. A double gate dropped behind me. I seethed for a moment as I surveyed the prisoners on the deck, not liking what I saw.  
I walked around for a few moments before I spotted Haru, sitting with a large group of men. I walked over just as he turned his head in my direction.  
"Kole?" he said, astounded as he jumped to his feet.  
"Haru!" I hugged him for a moment.  
He didn't look good. Even though he had only been here for a short time, his brown hair looked messy and unkempt, his green eyes dull and lifeless.  
"What are you doing here?"  
"It's my fault you were captured. I came to rescue you," I said, guilty.  
"So, you got yourself arrested?"  
I shrugged. "It was the only way to find you."  
He shook his head and folded his arms across his chest and smiled. "You got guts, Kole, I'll give you that." He took my shoulder and pulled me over to the men. "Come one, there's someone I want you to meet."  
Haru and I approached a group of seven soldiers, stopping next to the last one.  
"Kole, this is my father, Tyro. Dad, this is Kole," Haru said, gesturing between us.  
I nodded slightly to the older man who was sitting on the ground. He was busily eating, but he turned to his son's voice and saw me.  
I bowed. "It's an honor to meet you."  
Tyro handed me a bowl. "Have some dinner, Kole."  
I took the bowl hungrily, realizing I had not eaten all day. My hunger turned to disgust though when I looked at the food. "Eruhh!"  
Tyro smiled in agreement. "It's not as bad as it looks."  
I sat down and ate a spoonful . . . And almost spat it back out. "Erahh!"  
Tyro laughed apologetically. "It's still pretty bad though."  
A hand appeared on Tyro's shoulder, another prisoner trying to get his attention.  
"Tyro, the prisoners are complaining there aren't enough blankets to go around."  
He nodded. "I'll talk to the guards. In the meantime, make sure the elderly are taken care of. The rest of us will simply have to hope for warmer weather."  
"If you don't mind me asking, what's your escape plan?" I asked, shivering slightly as a breeze blew through the complex.  
"Excuse me?" he said suspiciously.  
"You know, the plan to get everyone off the rig? What is it? Mutiny? Sabotage?" I really hoped I was both.  
"The plan? The plan is to survive - wait out this war. Hope that one day some of us can get back home and forget this ever happened," he said, looking at me like I had lost my mind.  
"How can you say that? You sound like you've already given up," I said, outraged. How could anyone just give in like this? There had to be at least fifty earthbenders here. I was positive they could easily over power the warden and his men without breaking a sweat.  
"Kole, I admire your courage and I envy your youth, but people's lives are at stake here. The Warden is a ruthless man, and he won't stand for any rebellion. I'm sorry, but we're powerless."  
"We'll see about that," I growled, standing up with grim determination.  
I walked over and climbed up on a small raised platform in the open area. Grabbing the lid of a pot with my spoon, I banged them together several times to get everyone's attention.  
"Earthbenders! You don't know me, but I know of you. Every child of my water tribe village was rocked to sleep with stories of the brave Earth Kingdom and the courageous earthbenders who guard its borders."  
I looked up to see the warden watching from one of the catwalks above. I glared at him and continued.  
"Some of you may think that the Fire Nation has made you powerless. Yes, they have taken away your ability to bend, but they can't take away your courage and it is your courage they should truly fear! Because it ran deeper than any mine you've been forced to dig, any ocean that keeps you far from home. It is the strength of your hearts that make you who you are, hearts that will remain unbroken when all rock and stone has eroded away. The time to fight back is now! I can tell you the Avatar has returned! So remember your courage, earthbenders, let us fight for our freedom!"  
After a few moments of utter silence pass, my determination weakened. The groups of prisoners turned away from me and went on with their conversations. I was crushed. How was I supposed to help these people when all they wanted to do was feel sorry for themselves"  
I got down from the platform, leaving to go sulk in a corner. What was I going to do? I thought about the people, my failed speech, and my time that was racing against me. Thoughts spun restlessly around, coming up with nothing more than new questions. Eventually, I simply groaned in frustration, curled up in a sleeping bag, and fell asleep.  
A short while later, I felt myself being shaken, I jumped up, panicked as I grabbed the hand who was shaking me and squeezed it tight.  
"Ouch! Would you calm down!" I heard a familiar voice hiss at me softly as the hand disappeared. I blinked up and looked into Odette's soft grey eyes. Right now, they were glaring at me agitatedly.  
"Sorry," I said, rubbing the back of my head.  
She sighed and led me back to the edge of the rig's main platform where Emrys and Alana were waiting.  
"Your twelve hours are up, where's Haru? We've got to get out of here," Alana said as I came over.  
Odette hopped off the platform and onto Emrys as my sister held her arm out to me.  
I shook my head and backed away from her. "I can't."  
She glared at me. "We don't have much time, there are guards everywhere. Get on."  
Odette frowned, concerned. "Kole, what's wrong?"  
I had made up my mind as soon as Odette had woken me up."I'm not leaving. I'm not giving up on these people."

Odette:

I was pretty sure Kole had lost his mind.  
Alana and I jumped off Emrys, who floated in the air beside the platform. We all knelt down in a triangle on the rig's edge, trying to avoid being seen by guards.  
Alana was furious. "What do you mean you're not leaving!?"  
"We can't abandon these people. There has to be a way to help them," Kole argued back.  
I sighed, seeing Kole's point. "Maybe she's right. What do you say, Alana?"  
"I say you're both crazy!" Alana hissed, glaring at both of us.  
A searchlight came close by and we hunkered down until it passed. Alana turned back to Kole, a warning in her eyes. "Last chance, we need to leave – now!"  
"No," he said, his voice hard.  
She shook her head. "I hate when you get like this." Another search light came close. "Come on, we better hide."  
We snuck over to a loading dock with many crates on it. As Fang peeped over one of the crates, Kole, Alana, and I crouched amongst the boxes.  
"We don't have much time. What are we gonna do?" Alana asked as soon as everyone was settled and out of sight.  
"I wish I knew how to make a hurricane," I sighed longingly. I looked over at Kole and Alana who looked very unhappy at this idea. "The Warden would run away and we'd steal his keys!" I explained defensively.  
Alana quirked an eyebrow. "Wouldn't he just take his keys with him?"  
I threw up my arms and glared. "I'm just tossing ideas around."  
Kole sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I tired talking the earthbenders into fighting back, but it didn't work. If there was just a way to help them help themselves."  
"For that they'd need some kind of earth, or some rock...something they can bend," Alana said, pondering the idea.  
Kole touched the rig platform. "But this entire place is made of metal."  
I looked around for a moment and then pointed up towards the sky. "No, it's not. Look at the smoke. I bet they're burning coal – In other words, earth."  
As I was speaking, Kole and Alana followed my finger to look at the smokestacks on the upper reaches of the rig. Behind the stacks, the sky was clearly getting lighter, dawn was close at hand.  
Alana frowned for a moment before standing up and walking away. Kole and I looked at each other but followed her immediately, confused.  
A moment later, we were on the prisoner deck area where Kole had Emrysrently given his speech. We were looking down into an enormous ventilation shaft which was capped. The grate was similar to the ones near the mine where Kole had been arrested.  
With no further explanations, we all caught on quickly to what Alana wanted me to do. I looked at her uncertainly.  
"It's almost dawn; we're running out of time! Are you sure this is gonna work?" Kole asked her worriedly.  
It should," she said. "These vents reminded me of our little trick back at the village. We're gonna do the same thing, but on a much bigger scale."  
She looked at the grate closely. "There's a huge deposit of coal at the base of the silo, and the whole system is ventilated. Odette will close off all the vents except one. When she does her airbending, the coal only has one place to go – right back here."  
I nodded, knowing she was right.  
I sighed, nodded, and took off to make sure that every single on of those vents was blocked.  
This was the craziest plan by far, and all I could do was hope that it worked.

Kole:

It was now morning.  
Odette had left ten minutes ago to block off the vents. She returned a while later, confirming that all the vents were blocked save for the one we were standing in front of. With some last minute directions from Alana, she left to go find the coal.  
She had literally just disappeared from sight when suddenly, Alana and I were surrounded by six Fire Nation soldiers pointing there spears at us and prisoners who had gather up behind us, including Tyro and Haru. Emrysrently a lot had been happening behind us while hadn't paying attention.  
More soldiers poured in and lined the entire deck.  
"There's the intruder!" A soldier yelled and pointed at Alana.  
She drew her boomerang. "Stay back, I'm warning you!"  
Tyro stepped forward. "Kole stop! You can't win this fight!"  
I glared at him for a moment, irritated with his lack of fight. What had happened to the courageous man I had heard so much about?  
Haru seemed to be thinking the same thing, because he was looking at his father with a stunned expression.  
The warden arrived just then, smiling at me smugly.  
"Listen to him well, child. You're one mistake away from dying where you stand," he said warningly.  
Alana pressed her back up against mine as the soldiers began to close in. I stood facing the warden.  
Come on Odette, I thought. Hurry it up.  
I starred at the grate, waiting. Suddenly, air began to rush out, followed by dust and pebbles. Then a living river of coal erupted from the grate, eventually tearing it away. The eruption of coal shot high into the air over the deck, blasting the grate away.  
The warden started, clearly shocked and dismayed.  
The coal landed in a massive pile between the earthbenders and the firebenders. The prisoners looked at the pile of earth that had just appeared. Odette suddenly sprung up from the vent and landed on the coal, covered in coal dust. She coughed it off and sneezed as I ran up to the top of the coal pile.  
"Here's your chance, earthbenders!" I shouted and grabbed a lump of coal and raised it high. "Take it! Your fate is in your own hands!"  
Haru began to move forward, but Tyro stopped him. Various prisoners begin to shrink backward, eschewing open conflict. My face dropped slightly, still holding up the lump of coal.  
The warden broke out in laughter behind me. "Hahaha! Foolish girl! You thought a few inspirational words and some coal would change these people? Look at these blank, hopeless faces."  
I did. They looked sad and utterly hopeless.  
"There spirits were broken a long time ago. Oh? But you still believe in them?"  
I lowered the coal, shocked by the prisoners' reaction. "How sweet. They're a waste of your energy, little girl. You've failed."  
I stood on the coal, my shoulders slumping, defeated and lonely. The Warden turned to walk back into the rig. As he did, a lump of coal flew right past me and hit him in the back of the head. He turned back in anger.  
Haru stood, prisoners standing behind him, twirling some lumps of coal above his raised left hand. His expression was severe. The Warden launched a blast of fire at the boy. The gout of flame was about to engulf Haru, who braced for death, when it was blocked by a wall of coal.  
Tyro had joined in the fight. He was standing in an earthbending stance and had clearly stepped forward to protect his son. The Warden and his men now stood in a firing line.  
"Show no mercy!" The Warden shouted and the Fire Nation line charged forward, unleashing a wall of flame. Tyro and the three nearest earthbenders, including Haru blocked it with a huge wall of coal, which absorbed the flames.  
"For the Earth Kingdom, attack!" Tyro shouted and slammed the palms of his fists on the deck of the rig, throwing the wall of coal forward toward the Fire Nation line.  
The Fire Soldiers deflected some of the rocks with flame. The prisoners, all of whom have joined the rebellion, have assumed earthbending stances. General melee ensues.  
One on one the earthbenders blocked fire attacks with coal shields and knocked out firebenders by striking them with huge lumps of coal thrown at high speeds. Heaps of burning coal now littered the deck. In the middle of the deck, Alana, Odette, and I were rushing forward, trying to get to the Warden. A Fire Nation soldier came flying at us out of nowhere but Alana cut off the head of his spear with her boomerang and threw the spearhead with a small shaft still attached to it. Fang, who was running close by our feet, caught it. He then collected spears as they were thrown by Fire Nation soldiers, rendering them harmless.  
Tyro and Haru stood in front of the coal dump. They raised a huge amount of coal, and then mash it between them to create a boulder. The Warden was rapidly shooting fireballs at targets, frantic to get things back under control. Haru and Tyro threw the boulder at the door into the rig and blasted a boulder shaped hole in the door.  
"Get to the ship! We'll hold them off!" Tyro shouted to the other prisoners.  
Just as he spoke, the Warden also gave orders of his own. "Do not let them escape!"  
The Warden rallied a few of his troops and they began to barrage the exit with flame. Odette, Alana, and I had been trying to exit to go help the prisoners take the ships. When we saw the flames hit the wall in front of us, we quickly turned and Odette airbent a small tornado into existence, the end of which was aimed at the firebenders.  
"Guys, throw me some coal!" she shouted.  
Alana and I started dropping chunks of coal into the top of the little whirlwind, which accelerated down the wind tube and exited at high speeds towards the Warden's men. They all got knocked down, the coal hitting them repeatedly until they fell.  
Tyro and two other earthbenders earthbent the entire coal dump, with the Warden and all his men on it, out of over the open water.  
The Warden turned to us, pleading. "No, please! I can't swim!"  
Tyro grinned nastily. "Don't worry, I hear cowards float."  
Tyro dropped them all into the ocean below.

Several Fire Nation ships, now under the command of the former prisoners, steamed away from the rig.  
Emrys with Alana and Odette swam next to the point ship. I stood with Tyro and Haru on the deck of the ship.  
I was beaming as I looked back at the prison we left behind. I was proud that I had managed to get everyone out alive, save for the firebenders. But they deserved it, and I was just glad that I had finally been able to make a difference in some people's lives.  
"I want to thank you for saving me. For saving us," Haru said sincerely.  
"All it took was a little coal," I said, embarrassed. I didn't need any thanks or congratulations. I just needed to see that people were safe from the Fire Nation, and that was enough for me.  
Haru shook his head. "It wasn't the coal, Kole, it was you."  
Tyro put a hand on my shoulder. "Thank you for helping me find my courage, Kole, of the water tribe. My family and everyone here owe you much."  
I brushed that off and directed the topic away from me. "So, I guess you're going home now?"  
Tyro nodded longingly. "Yes, to take back my village."  
A spark flashed in his eyes and, raising his voice and his left hand in a fist, just as I had done, he looked back over the ships to address the former prisoners. "To take back ALL of our villages! The Fire Nation will regret the day they set foot on our land!"  
There were three ships sailing close by us. Tyro's ship was in the middle and ahead with Emrys swimming on the right. I looked from left to right, taking in the cheering earthbenders on the decks of every ship.  
"Come with us," Haru asked.  
I smiled in thanks. "I can't. Your mission is to take back your home. Ours is to get Odette to the North Pole."

I turned to look at her. She was sitting on Emrys, airbending a little chunk of coal around, her brown hair blowing around her face.  
"That's her, isn't it? The Avatar," Haru said in wonder before turning back to me. "Kole, thank you for bringing my father back to me. I never thought I'd see him again. I only wish there was some way…"  
"I know," I said, stopping him short. I reached into my pocket for the necklace and started in surprise when I found it was gone. "My mother's necklace! It's gone!"

Ren:

I looked down at the disaster around me, seeing the necklace lying on the deck of the rig.  
I quickly grabbed it, recognizing it immediately.  
It was them, they had been here. Well, my life just became easier. With the necklace, I would surely be able to bargain with them. And if that didn't work, then I didn't really care, I would just kill them.  
I looked out over the ocean to the setting sun, grinning to myself, and plotting.


	8. Chapter 7: The Spirit World

Odette:

We flew across the open sky over a lush river valley. It was a beautiful day with lazy, puffy white clouds and sunshine.  
Emrys was moving slowly through the clouds, drifting lazily. I was in Emrys's driving seat, leaning back, enjoying myself with a reed in my mouth. Kole stretched out on his stomach looking over Emrys's side, while Alana whistled.  
"Those clouds look so soft, don't they? Like you could just jump down and you'd land in a big, soft cottony heap," Kole sighed lazily, staring down.  
Alana snorted. "Maybe you should give it a try," she said snarkily.  
"You're hilarious," he shot back, just as sarcastic.  
Actually that wasn't a bad idea. I jumped up, smiling excitedly. This was going to be a blast!  
"I'll try it! Yehhhh!" I yelled ad I jumped right off Emrys's side, laughing and hurtling down through the clouds with my staff. Alana and Kole looked over the side of Emrys as I plunged through a cloud. A moment later, I landed next to them with my glider. I was soaking wet.  
"Turns out clouds are made of water!" I said, shaking my hair out.  
I airbent myself dry and Alana and Kole eyed me strangely. Suddenly, Kole turned and looked ahead.  
"Hey, what is that?" he asked his voice sounding strange.  
Up ahead, the floor of the valley below around the river was black instead of vegetation green.  
I frowned, my chest feeling heavy at the sight. "It's like a scar."  
We quickly landed on the floor of the valley in the damaged area. Where my feet landed, ashes floated up around me softly. Burnt tree stumps dotted the barren landscape and it almost seemed like we had stepped into a world of grey, where even the sky grew darker.  
We started walking around, Kole on my left back near Emrys and Alana to my right.  
"Listen, it's so quiet. There's no life anywhere," Alana said, her voice sounding too loud in the dead calm.  
It was disturbing; there really were no sounds at all, no signs of life. No birds or animals or anything. Just a sea of grey and black ash.  
I spotted footprints on the burnt ground, actually dotting a lot of the place. My face drained.  
"Odette, are you ok?" Kole asked worriedly, coming over.  
Alana gasped, realizing what I already knew. "Fire Nation! Those evil savages make me sick! They have no respect for –"  
"Shhh!" Kole hissed sharply.  
She glared at him. "What? I'm not allowed to be angry?" she whispered.  
Kole pointed at me, not too secretively. I didn't care; I was too upset to care. I sunk to my knees in the dust and sighed. I began to run my hands through the burnt earth, feeling as if I could almost feel and hear the pain that had been caused here.  
"Why would anyone do this? How could I let this happen?" I asked quietly, not really speaking to anyone. I hated myself for doing this, for not doing anything to stop it. It was my fault; everything that had gone bad in the world was my fault.  
"Odette, you didn't let this happen. It has nothing to do with you," Kole said.  
"Yes it does. It's the Avatar's job to protect nature. But, I don't know how to do my job," I said pathetically.  
"That's why we're going to the North Pole to find you a teacher."  
"Yeh, a waterbending teacher, but there's no one who can teach me how to be the Avatar. Monk Athos said that Avatar Koren would help me," I said.  
"The Avatar before you? He died over a hundred years ago, how are you supposed to talk to him?" Alana asked, confused.  
I sighed, hopeless. "I don't know."  
Fang jumped into my lap and began to yelp. I absentmindedly petted his back as I stared at the destruction before me.

Ren:

I stepped through a bunch of tall reads and into a clearing, irritated.  
My Uncle had disappeared over an hour ago, knowing that we would have to leave soon. I had been walking through the forest yelling like an idiot for at least thirty minutes now. When I found him, I swear I was going to kill him.  
"Uncle! It's time to leave! Where are you? Uncle Ira!" I yelled.  
I turned to my left and narrowed my eyes when I spotted a fire soldier uniform hanging from the low branches of a tree. I walked forward a bit more and, much to my irritation, I found him in a hot bath. The tub was made out of rock and it was fed by a stream coming out of the rocks behind it.  
"Over here," he sighed happily.  
"Uncle? We need to move on, we're closing in on the Avatar's trail and I don't want to lose her!" I snapped.  
Ever since I had discovered that water tribe peasant's necklace, I had been dying to use it against them. They would surely give up the girl in exchange for the necklace, wouldn't they. But, if they didn't I would just resort to my previous way. Taking her by force.  
"You look tired, Prince Ren. Why don't you join me in these hot springs and soak away your troubles," Uncle said, his face completely relaxed.  
"My troubles cannot be soaked away. It's time to go!" I shouted angrily.  
"You should take your teacher's advice and relax a little. The temperature's just right. I heated it myself," he said and shifted his position slightly. He put his hands together and breathed steam from his nostrils. The steam floated towards me, suffocating me and I swatted it away.  
"Enough! We need to leave now! Get out of the water!" I snapped.  
"Very well," he sighed and stood up.  
I gasped and put my hand up to strategically block the view of my uncle. I had absolutely no desire to see my fat naked uncle. I think if I did, I probably would drop dead from the horror of it.  
"On second thought, why don't you take another few minutes, but be back at the ship in half an hour or I'm leaving without you," I snapped, furious.  
"Ahhh!" he sighed as he got back down. I growled and stomped back into the trees.

Odette:

I hadn't moved in an hour. I was still kneeling in the wasteland, sitting in the same exact position.  
Kole approached me from behind.  
"Hey Odette, are you ready to be cheered up?" he said happily.  
"No."  
An acorn suddenly flew at me, hitting me on the side of the head.  
"Ow!" I snapped and turned around. I spotted Kole, now right behind me, bouncing another acorn up and down in his right hand.  
"Hey, how was that cheering me up?" I glowered, rubbing the sore spot on my head.  
"Hehe, cheered me up," Alana laughed.  
Alana promptly got whacked by an acorn from Kole on the side of her head.  
"Ow! Yeh, I probably deserved that," she muttered, rubbing her head as well.  
Kole came over and sat down next to me. "These acorns are everywhere, Odette. That means the forest will grow back. Every one of these will be a tall oak tree someday, and all the birds and animals that lived here will come back."  
Just ahead of me, Fang dug furiously in the scorched earth, emerging with a mouthful of acorns and wagging his light grey tail. Kole placed an acorn in the palm of my hand and closed it.  
"Thanks, Kole," I said, smiling.  
Kole smiled and then made a startled sound, looking behind us. I turned quickly to see an old man in green using a walking stick as he approached us. He looked at each of us for a moment before heading straight for me, stopping directly in front of me. I stood.  
"Hey, who are you?" Alana said suspiciously as she stood by Emrys's wing.  
"When I saw the dragon, I thought it was impossible, but those markings...are you the Avatar child?" the old man asked me.  
I turned to Kole who nodded his head. I sighed and turned back to the old man and nodded my head in turn.  
"My village desperately needs your help," he pleaded.  
I frowned. Something had to be seriously wrong here, or else this man wouldn't seem to be so frightened. I picked up my staff and turned latched onto his arm.  
"Take me to them," I told him, and he began leading me back the way he had  
come, the others trailing behind us.

The sun was about to go down beneath hills in the distance. We followed the old man into the walls of an Earth Kingdom village. Much of it had been burned out and destroyed. I looked around, saddened by the destruction that was here as well. We entered one of the buildings where some villagers were gathered. As the old man introduces me to the people, a different man, probably the village chief walked over.  
"This young person is the Avatar," the old man said excitedly.  
The chief looked me up and down. "So the rumors of your return are true." He bowed. "It is the greatest honor of a lifetime to be in your presence."  
I bowed in return, a little awkwardly. "Nice to meet you too," I replied and then paused for a second. "So...is there something I can help you with?"  
The Chief looked at me with a pained expression. "I'm not sure…"  
The Old Man spoke up again. "Our village is in crisis, she's our only hope. For the last few days at sunset a spirit monster comes and attacks our village. He is Hei-Bai, the black and white spirit."  
"Why is it attacking you?" Alana asked, brushing her hair out of her eyes.  
The Chief moved to the threshold of the doorway that we had just entered, looking at the setting sun. "We do not know, but each of the last three nights he has abducted one of our own. We are especially fearful because the winter solstice draws near."  
Kole frowned. "What happens then?"  
"As the solstice approaches, the natural world and the spirit world grow closer and closer until the line between them is blurred completely," the Old Man said, quivering slightly.  
"Hei-Bai is already causing devastation and destruction. Once the solstice is here there is no telling what will happen," the Chief fretted.  
"So, what do you want me to do exactly?" I asked not sure what I could do. I had never dealt with spirits before.  
The Old Man shrugged and smiled. "Who better to resolve a crisis between our world and the spirit world than the Avatar herself? You are the great bridge between man and spirits."  
I was seriously lacking the confidence that I desperately needed. "Right...that's me."  
"Hey, 'great bridge girl', can I talk to you over here for a second?" Kole called to me.  
I turned and followed him as he walked over to a nearby window. A bit later Alana came over to us, finally able to talk privately for a moment.  
"Odette, you seem a little unsure about all this," Kole stated, watching me closely.  
I sighed. "Yeh, that might be because I don't know anything at all about the spirit world." I continued, exasperated. "It's not like there's someone to teach me this stuff!"  
"So, can you help these people?" he asked.  
I raised my eyebrows slightly. "I have to try, don't I? Maybe whatever I have to do will just...come to me."  
Fang came over and saw at my feet and yipped at me. I jumped in surprise, but then smiled when I realized it was him. I looked back at Kole who was shaking his head and smiling serenely.  
"I think you can do it, Odette," Kole said and Alana patted my shoulder, also smiling, perfectly calm and confident.  
"Yehhhh," she said. "We're all gonna get eaten by a spirit monster."

When the sun had nearly set, I walked out to the forest outside of the Earth Kingdom village. As I exited the meetinghouse building where I had met the chief, the doors closed behind me and locked. I took a deep breath and began to walk through the village, hands defensively wrapped around my staff.  
Not really knowing what to do, I decided to just start talking.  
"Hello? Spirit, can you hear me? This is the Avatar speaking. I'm...here to try to help stuff. . ."  
The sun had almost set, just as I was about to exit the village gate.  
I waited a few more minutes until he sun was gone and the land became dark. Irritated, I began shouting into the woods.  
"The sun has set. Where are you, Hei-Bai? Well, spirit, uh, I hereby ask you to please leave this village in peace!"  
I twirled my staff around and then planted it in the ground like a flag. I tried to be resolute.  
When there was no response, I sighed. "Okay. Well, I guess that's settled then."  
I turned and began to walk back to the village. I stopped though after I got only about eight feet, listening. It sounded like . . . whispers . . . coming from right behind me. I continued walking for a moment more, cautiously, and then heard the dull thuds of gigantic feet.  
Realizing something was amiss, I stopped and turned.  
And came face to face with the spirit Hei-Bai.  
Hei-Bai was as big as a house, with six legs and black and white orca-like markings all over his body. He was vaguely mammalian and had razor sharp teeth.  
I blinked in surprise for a moment before I smiled gently at the spirit.  
"You must be the Hei-Bai spirit." I bowed my head respectfully. "My name is…"  
I was cut off by a blast of air and blue energy from the mouth of the creature. I did not move but my staff was blown to the ground.  
The spirit reared itself up on its hind-most legs and bellowed, releasing another jet of blue energy from its mouth. It got back on all six legs and then charged into the village, ignoring me and leaving me behind. I turned to address the monster as it moved in.  
"My name is Odette! I'm the Avatar and I would like to help! Hey, wait up!"  
The spirit destroyed in rapid succession two houses and a watchtower using its brute strength and blue energy. The monster continued to destroy another building as I followed it around, trying to get its attention.  
"Uh…" I had absolutely no idea what to do.  
Suddenly, a huge pile of debris gout blown above the meetinghouse. Hei-Bai stormed towards it and I ran to the building to get between it and the monster.  
"Please, would you stop destroying things and listen?"  
I jumped on top of the building between us. Hei-Bai was pounding a building into the ground with his fists.  
"I'm just trying to do my job as Spirit Bridge. Excuse me, would you please turn around? I command you to turn around now!" I screeched, furious now. He had to stop and listen for just a moment!  
At this, the monster did indeed turn around, swatting me backward off the top of the building. Pain exploded through my chest as I flew through the air and hit a nearby roof. Dizzy from the impact, I slid off and collapsed on the ground.  
Suddenly, I heard a commotion coming from the meetinghouse and I looked up to see Alana watching me worriedly.  
"That's it! She needs help!" she snapped to Kole and disappeared.  
"Alana wait!" I heard him shout back.  
My head swam and my vision was a little blurry. I reached behind my head and discovered a small lump.  
The doors of the meetinghouse opened and Alana ran out. Kole followed, but was stopped by the old man.  
"It's not safe!" he said warningly.  
Suddenly there was a loud thud next to my head and I rolled over onto my back, my long hair sticking to my face in sweaty strands. The monster was standing over me menacingly, snarling. I glanced behind me and as my vision became clear again and my head stopped swimming, I saw Alana hefting her boomerang, having just emerged from the meetinghouse.  
"Hei-Bai! Over here!" she shouted, just before she let loose the boomerang. The boomerang swung through the air before hitting the creature's side and bounced off harmlessly. It fell on the ground as Hei-Bai swung his big head to the side to see what had hit him.  
Alana ran up to me and helped me to my feet.  
"Alana, go back!" I snapped at her, pushing her away.  
She stopped me and grabbed my arm. "We'll fight him together, Odette."  
I shook me head and glared. "I don't wanna fight him unless I – huh!"  
Hei-Bai suddenly came back and took Alana. Both disappeared in an instant, cutting me off in mid-sentence.  
Without missing a beat, I opened my staff into glider mode and took off. The monster loped back into the forest with me gliding after it in pursuit.

Ren:

I lowered a tree branch from eye-level so I could move forward, a Fire Nation soldier behind me.  
My uncle, who loved to find new ways to make me mad, was now over two hours late.  
Knowing exactly where he was, I barged into the clearing where he last had been, preparing to give him an earful.  
"Uncle! Uncle, where are you?" I snapped, looking around when he wasn't there.  
"Sir, maybe he thought you left without him?" the soldier suggested.  
I looked around, sensing something off about this place.  
"Something's not right here," I muttered to myself. I walked over to the makeshift tub and examined it, noting the stone projectiles embedded in it. "That pile of rocks…"  
"It looked like there's been a landslide, sir," the soldier said, peering over my should.  
I shook my head and stood up, furious.  
"Land doesn't slide uphill. Those rocks didn't move naturally. My uncle's been captured by earthbenders!"  
Great, not only was I going to have to waste time rescuing him, if he got hurt or killed, I very well may have to kill someone  
This was turning out to be a really long day.

Three hours later, we were well on the trail of my Uncle and his captors. After figuring out that he had been taken, we had discovered the tracks of what looked like three ostrich horses.  
We had quickly returned to the ship and had been following the tracks ever since.  
After a while, I discovered something that convinced me we were on the right trail. I jumped down off my war rhinoceros and picked up what looked like my uncle's sandal. Bracing myself, I sniffed it and almost lost my lunch. I recoiled away from the sandal in disgust, holding it as far as possible away from me.  
"Yup, that's Uncle Ira," I said, climbing back up onto the rhinoceros. I'd know his smelly sandal stench anywhere.  
"Move out!" I ordered, and we picked up the pace once more. We had to be getting close by now.  
The sun was just about to set when I saw something that stopped me in my tracks.  
I heard a strange flapping noise and glanced back to see if something was following us. I almost fell off my rhinoceros when I saw it was that stupid dragon flying in the distance.  
"The Avatar!" I gasped.

I yanked the reigns to turn the beast back, but then I stopped.  
Was I really going to sacrifice my uncle's life to go chase after the Avatar? Although the girl was essential to my safe return home, my uncle was my only fire bending teacher and the only family I had out here. Even though he infuriated me, he was the only person I trusted and . . . cared about.  
I looked down the trail that lead to my captured uncle then looked back again in the direction I saw the dragon, indecision tugging at me.  
After a minute of tossing things around, I looked at the trail that lead to the dragon and made my decision, spurring the rhinoceros forward.

Odette:

I flew at breakneck speed through the forest in pursuit of Hei-Bai. I finally was able to pull even with it, flying along side it as Alana made strange frightened sounds. I was just beginning to pass when I hit a branch and slowed down.  
"Odette, over here!" Alana screeched as I scrambled to catch up.  
Hei-Bai entered the wasteland are from before, with me close behind. I flew in close, almost next to Alana, who was in the grip of the monster.  
"Help!" she cried.  
"Hang on, Alana!"  
I glided in closer, stretching my hand out to Alana, who was able to grab it. Just as I began to pull her free, however, both she and the monster vanish.  
I fell out of the sky in surprise, cracking my head against stone, and my world faded to black.  
When I woke up, I was laid out at the base of a stone statue of a bear. I sat up, surprised to find that my head no longer hurt. I looked up and saw a crescent moon overhead, bathing the land in silver moonlight.  
I tried to get my bearings, and once I did, I jumped up in horror.  
"Alana!" I looked around and saw absolutely nothing. I dropped my head in misery. "I failed."  
With nothing left for me to do, I slowly began to walk back to the village, dreading the thought of facing Kole who would surely devastated. I reached the village around the same time the sun was about to come up.  
Kole was sitting at the village gate, looking into the forest. The old man came up behind him.  
"I'm sure they'll be back," he said comfortingly.  
Kole sighed. "I know."  
The Old Man put a cover over Kole's back. "You should get some rest."  
He held Alana's boomerang and tried to sound hopeful. "Everything's gonna be okay."  
The Old Man nodded. "Your sister is in good hands. I would be shocked if the Avatar returned without her."  
I reached them just at the end of the Old Man's comforting words.  
I couldn't look at Kole's downcast face so, looking at the ground in front of him, I told him what had happened.  
"Kole, Kole I lost her," I said, guilt saturating my words.  
Neither he nor the old man reacted to my voice. I blinked and took a step closer, confused. It was like they didn't even know I was here.  
The Old Man looked up, the early sun lightening his face. "The sun is rising. Perhaps she will return soon."  
I balked. Was he blind or something! "What? No, I'm right here! Grrrr!"  
I put my hands in front of the old man's face, but to no effect. I turned to look at the sun, trying to figure out why I was Emrysrently invisible. I looked at my hands and started when I saw that they were in fact colored a light blue, as if I was glowing slightly in some surreal fashion.  
I gasped, realizing the only other explanation aside from me losing my mind.  
"I'm in the spirit world!"  
Great. What was I supposed to do now? I had no idea how I even got into the spirit world, let alone how to get out of it.  
I sat down next to Kole with a huff. I just had to keep calm; I would figure this out if I did that. Everything was going to be fine.  
I smiled to myself. "I'll figure this out, Kole, I promise. Like they said, I'm the bridge between the worlds, right? All I have to do is...figure out what I have to do. But once I do that, no problem!"  
I looked to my right and saw Emrys moving along the outside of the wall towards Kole and I. She grunted and put her nose up to him.  
"Emrys! Hey buddy, I'm right here. But, I guess you can't see me either," I sighed sadly. It kind of sucked being invisible.  
Emrys kept grunting at Kole until he looked up at her.  
He smiled and gently patted one of her wings. "It's ok, Emrys. I'm sure they're on their way back. I bet they even found you a bunch of moon peaches for a treat."  
He stood and walked back into the village, Emrys in tow. I watched them for a moment before I turned and looked down the path that lead into the forest.  
"What am I supposed to do?"  
I scanned the tree line, looking for anything that might help me. I got an idea suddenly, and I felt stupid for not thinking of it before. I set my teeth and turned to the forest, shouting as loud as I could.  
"Avatar Koren, how can I talk to you?"  
Naturally, I got no response and I looked down in despair. I turned back toward the village, hoping I would find something in there. As I turned, I noticed something out from the corner of my eye and I looked back down the path, elation filling me.  
"Alana?" I said excitedly.  
A light shown from down the path. A second or two after that though, my excitement changed to fear as I looked at the blue spirit dragon flying toward me.  
"That's definitely not Alana!" I muttered and opened my glider, taking flight back into the village. Instead of flying though, I hit the ground again a few feet away.  
Confused, I got up and tried to airbend the glider off the ground, but nothing happened. I looked down at me hands in disbelief.  
"What? I can't airbend in the spirit world!"  
I looked up in alarm as the blue spirit dragon was bearing down on me. As it came closer, I saw that the dragon was wreathed in what looked like radioactive blue fire. Before I could even blink, the dragon was upon me and I cowered beneath it, fear slamming through me like a tidal wave.  
"You don't know where Alana is, do you?" I asked, trying to keep the trembling out of my voice.  
In response, the dragon bent its head down and touched my head with one of its whiskers. As soon as he touched me, my eyes started burning like they were on fire and my arrows glowed such a bright blue it was almost white.  
A flashback began of a familiar old man riding the dragon the way I rode Emrys. In life the dragon was red and brown. The flashback ended as the blue dragon broke its touch.  
I smiled as I realized who this dragon was, relief replacing my fear.  
"You're Avatar Koren's animal guide! Like Emrys is to me. I need to save my friend and I don't know how. Is there some way for me to talk to Koren?"  
The dragon bent its neck and I jumped on.  
I looked back to the village for a second.  
"I'll be back Kole," I said to myself before turning to the dragon. "Take me to Koren!"  
The dragon and I suddenly took off and we shot several hundred feet into the air in just a few seconds. I locked my arms as tightly as I could around the dragon but I could still feel my weight getting left behind me as we shot through the air.  
It was the most amazing flying experience I had ever had. If I could fly like this all the time, I would. Emrys may have been fast, but the dragon was ten times faster than her.  
My stomach lurched as we soared up into the sky then flipped upside down and hung there for several moments before turning in a spiral freefall. The air became colder the higher we went, and soon I could no longer tell where we were.  
Eventually though, the freefall ended and we leveled out, just over the choppy waters of a grey sea. The dragon didn't slow down but I didn't mind, in face, I kind of wished he would o a little faster.  
I looked up and sat straighter as we swiftly approach a volcanic island. It had a beautiful Fire Temple on it, which we entered. Without warning, the dragon shot up again and we flew straight towards the ceiling.  
"Hey, what are you doing!? Ahhh!" I screamed, bracing for the impact.  
We rapidly approached the ceiling, which we passed through harmlessly. The dragon alighted on the floor of a secret chamber at the top of the temple. It was empty except for the statue of an old man in the background. I dismounted and walked toward the statue.  
I frowned in confusion. "I don't understand. This is just a statue of Koren."  
I looked back at the dragon, which touched me on the temple once again. My eyes started burning again, and this time the vision was of a huge, flaming comet rocketing through the sky. The vision ended as the dragon broke contact.  
I blinked.  
"Is that what Koren wants to talk to me about? A comet? When can I talk to him?" I asked, looking into the dragons sapphire eyes.  
The dragon lowered its head in response.  
I turned and saw that the sun was shining through a tiny window high up in the ceiling. The shaft of light, previously blocked by the dragon, now hit the wall near Koren's right shoulder. The dragon touched me again and a vision of time passing at the Fire Temple began. I was looking at exterior of the temple sitting on its volcanic promontory.  
Clouds flew by at incredible speeds and the sun rounded its daily course in a matter of seconds. Three days passed in this fashion before the temple faded to show the floor of the statue's chamber.  
Two written characters were shown before the scene shifted to a little window where the sunlight entered. Days passed in rapid succession there as well. The flashback shifted back to the statue from the back of the room, where it was clear with each day, the spot where the shaft of sunlight hit the back wall got closer to hitting the statue's face. The vision ended there.  
I shook my head as the burning stopped. "It's a calendar, and the light will reach Koren on the solstice!"  
I turned to the dragon. "So, that's when I'll be able to speak to Koren?"  
The dragon grunted in response and I shook my head. "But I can't wait that long. I need to save Alana now."  
The dragon huffed as I got on again and we departed the volcanic at a terrific speed.  
We flew through the wasteland at the edge of the forest, the bear rapidly growing larger. My body was sitting crossed legged atop it. I blinked; it was weird seeing myself like this, in what I could only expect to be the Avatar State.  
My wavy dark brown hair was moving slightly around my face and my eyes glowed a bright incandescent blue, along with my arrow markings. My face was vacant, blank, and lifeless. It was kind of disturbing.  
I braced myself for impact as we shot towards the statue, but I merely rejoined with my own body as the dragon disappeared into the statue.  
I woke up, now back in the material world and feeling like I had just slept for weeks. I jumped down off the statue and turned to stare in wonder at it, energy coursing through me.  
As I stared at the bear statue, I suddenly got the perfect idea of how I was going to deal with Hei-Bai. Without further delay, I opened my glider and flew back toward the village.  
The sun was setting once more by the time I got there. Kole was standing on the porch of the meetinghouse, looking downcast as he stared out over the trees. When he saw me, a big smile lit his face. He rushed over to hug me as I landed in front of him and Fang pranced over to perch on his master's foot.  
"You're back! Where's Alana?" he said, sounding relieved.  
I sighed. It was my turn to look downcast. "I'm not sure."

Ren:

I finally found him and his captors in an earthen pit. My uncle was stretched over a large rock in the center of the pit, his hands spread before him.  
As soon as I had seen the dragon disappear over the horizon, I knew I had to save my uncle. Without him, I would never be able to catch the Avatar anyway. And besides, I would catch her, just not today. I had sent the rest of my soldiers off to track them though while I had gone on alone. I didn't need any help rescuing my uncle.  
I looked for an opening, listening as the captain spoke.  
"These dangerous hands must be crushed," he cried aloud as he raised a huge boulder from the ground and moved it to hover over my uncle's hands.  
Just as he dropped it, I made my move. A moment before it crushed Uncle's hands and arms, I jumped out of my hiding place and kicked it out of the way. I landed and broke the chains holding my uncle's hands with another kick. Uncle rose with a smile as I slipped into a firebending stance, glaring furiously at his captors.  
"Excellent form, Prince Ren," he congratulated, pressing his back to mine as he got into his own stance.  
"You taught me well," I replied dangerously.  
The captain glared at us. "Surrender yourselves, it's five against two. You're clearly outnumbered."  
I glanced around and he was right, we were surrounded by our would-be captors. Oh well, that just meant a few more graves the Earth Kingdome was going to have to dig up.  
Uncle shook his head. "Uh, that's true, but you are clearly outmatched!"  
All five earthbenders launched stones at us. Uncle swung his chains and broke them into pieces mid-flight, while I blasted the two nearest to me with fire.  
I didn't have enough time to react as the two soldiers behind me shot two large rocks at me. I was about to be hit when the stones were wrapped in Uncle's chains. He swung them around his body and released them back at their captors. They were hit in the stomach and were both knocked out.  
The Captain launched several rocks at me and I dodged them easily and returned fire. The fire blast was blocked when the Captain lowered his head and the fire broke harmlessly over his onion shaped helmet. He then raised two huge sheets of rock and I stopped running at him in fear for a moment as I was about to be crushed to death. But then chains wrapped around the Captain's feet and he was pulled to the ground by my uncle. The rocks landed on top of him.  
The Earth Kingdom soldiers were groaning and buried in dirt, Uncle and I standing over them triumphantly. We looked at each other and smile.  
I put my hand on my uncle's shoulder, trying to ignore the fact that he was wearing nothing but a small cloth around his waist.  
Trying to be somewhat kind about it, I asked him, "Now would you please put on some clothes!"

Odette:

I stood at the village gate once again. It was night by now.  
The Chief, Fang and Kole looked out of the meetinghouse window towards me. The wind blew my hair behind me, the long strands mingling with dead leaves as they rushed past. I began to walk back into the village, restless from standing in the same spot for hours.  
As I approached a building with a wind chime that was sounding in the wind, the monster appeared. The monster broke through the roof of the building with the wind chime. It roared in triumph, releasing blue energy from its mouth.  
I cried out in surprise and began to make an energy shell similar to the one I created in The Southern Air Temple.  
Kole yelled at me, worried. "Odette, what are you doing? Run!"  
The creature roared and ran toward another building, but I ran underneath its legs and then jumped up onto its forehead. My hand glowed light blue, and I sued a panda bear superimposed image over the monster. I jumped back to the porch of a nearby building.  
"You're the spirit of this forest. Now I understand. You're upset and angry because your home was burned down. When I saw the forest had burned I was sad and upset. But my friend gave me hope that the forest would grow back," I told him as reasonably as possible. I took it as a good sign that he wasn't throwing me through a building right now.  
The spirit stood still while I spoke. When I was finished, I showed Hei-Bai the acorn that Kole had given me. The spirit smiled and I placed the acorn on the porch. The monster picked up the acorn and transformed into a panda, who turned and walked away from the village.  
Kole and the other villagers came up behind me while I was still standing on the porch. Together, we all watched the panda exit the gate. Behind him a thicket of bamboo grew to man height in seconds. A moment later, Alana and a few villagers exited the thicket looking confused.  
"Alana!" Kole gasped and ran to hug him, as other villagers hug their loved ones.  
Alana put a hand to her forehead. "What happened?"  
"You were trapped in the Spirit world for 24 hours. How are you feeling?"  
Alana looked pained. "Like I seriously need to use the bathroom!"  
Fifteen minutes after Alana returned, The Chief stood before us as we prepared to leave.  
"Thank you, Avatar. If there only were a way to repay you for what you've done," he said.  
Alana shrugged. "You could give us some supplies and some money."  
Kole angrily elbowed his sister. "Alana!"  
She looked back at him, outraged. "What? We need stuff."  
The Chief bowed. "It would be an honor to help you prepare for your journey."  
He left then to go grab some supplies for us.  
Kole turned to me. "I'm so proud of you, Odette. You figured out what to do all on your own."  
I smiled sheepishly. "Actually, I did have a little help. And there's something else."  
I looked away, downcast as I thought of the flashback.  
"What is it?" Alana asked.  
"I need to talk to Koren and I think I've found a way to contact his spirit," I told them.  
Kole grinned. "That's great!"  
Alana nodded. "Creepy, but great."  
"There's a temple on a crescent shaped island, and if I go there on the solstice I'll be able to speak with him," I explained.  
Kole frowned. "But, the solstice is tomorrow."  
"Yeh, and there's one more problem. The island is in the Fire Nation," I told them solemnly and they looked back with terrified faces.


	9. Chapter 8: Avatar Koren

Odette:  
I sat on Emrys in the square of the village, pulling on her reins in frustration.  
I groaned and pulled more. "Let's go Emrys! Come on, girl!  
Emrys flapped her wings in agitation and swished her tail, letting out a strange, "GRRRRRRR" sound.  
We faced each other.  
"Look, I'm sorry, but Kole and Alana aren't coming to the Fire Nation with us. If they got hurt…I'd never forgive myself," I sighed. When she just stared back at me blankly I started to get a little angry. "So get your big butt off the ground and let's go!"  
I continued to pull on Emrys's reins and she continued to remain immovable. I ended up pulling so hard on the reins that I fell to the ground. I looked up at her dejectedly.  
Suddenly, I heard Alana's voice and turned around. Alana, Kole and members of the village were standing behind Emrys, watching me.  
"I think her big butt is trying to tell you something," she said sarcastically.  
"Please don't go, Odette. The world can't afford to lose you to the Fire Nation. Neither can I," Kole said, looking at me pleadingly.  
I sighed and shook my head as the comet flashed through my mind. No, I had already endangered them enough, and going into the Fire Nation was just too risky. I had decided that either they should go back home or wait for me here until I returned. It was just easier that way.  
I got up from the ground and walked towards them.  
"But I have to talk to Avatar Koren to find out what my vision means. I need to get to the Fire Temple before the sun sets on the Solstice. That's today," I said.  
I jumped up onto Emrys's back and looked back hesitatingly at Alana and Kole. They looked at each other before jumping in front of Emrys.  
"We're not letting you go into the Fire Nation, Odette," Kole said, his voice hard.  
"At least not without your friends. We got your back," Alana second.  
Fang jumped up onto the saddle and slid underneath my arm, yapping happily. Emrys licked Alana from the bottom of her shoes to the top of her head.  
"EWWWWW," Alana cried and wiped the saliva from her face.  
"It's a long journey to the Crescent Island," The Chief said and handed me a parcel. "You'll have to fly fast to have any chance of making it before sundown. Good luck."  
I smiled and bowed my head slightly. "Thank you, for your…"  
The Chief stopped me, urgently pointing away. "Go!"  
Emrys took off and we flew away without another word.  
A few hours later, the sun was high in the sky. As Emrys flew through the clouds, Alana, Kole, and I lounged in the back on her saddle. I looked over my shoulder at the rising sun and turned forward with determination.  
"Come on, girl! We've got a long way to go! Faster!"  
She pumped her large wings faster and roared in assent.

Ren:

I watched as - who could only be the chief - came out of a door. He was sighing and rubbing his forehead. He seemed to be so distracted, he walked directly into me.  
My uncle sat on the war rhinoceros I was standing next to and together we stared him down.  
I narrowed my eyes at him and watched in pleasure as his face paled. "Having trouble sleeping?"  
Before he could answer me, I grabbed his shirt and pushed the Chief back into the doorway. He fell to the floor, taking a chair down with him. His wife came running into the room in her nightgown, her brown eyes wide with fright, her black hair swinging wildly around her face.  
I glared at the Chief shrewdly. "Seen the Avatar lately?"  
He spat at me and hissed, "No."  
I slapped the old man across the face so hard his head whipped to the side with a loud crack and his wife cried out in terror. When he turned back to me, his dark eyes were glittering furiously and his lip was bleeding. I leaned closer till our noses were almost touching.  
"I know she was here. Now tell me where she is!"  
He pressed his lips into a hard line, refusing to speak. I was losing my patience quickly. Fire danced across my fingertips as I prepared to strike.  
"Wait!" his wife cried just as I started to bring my hand down. I turned to her expectantly.  
"She's going to the Fire Nation, to a temple on a crescent island," she said, her eyes brimming with tears. She got down on her knees and pleaded with me. "Please, leave now."  
I turned my head slightly back to a guard and nodded him forward. I simple could not have these two peasants alerting the Avatar.  
Two guards walked forward and grabbed the woman by her arms, dragging her roughly out the door. She screamed and thrashed as they disappeared. The old man jumped to his feet and tried to run past me but I caught him and shoved him back just as the woman's shrill screams abruptly but off.  
He stared blankly ahead for a moment before his eyes flashed and he leaped to his feet, swinging his arm at me. I blocked it before grabbing his head and giving a sharp twist to the side. His neck cracked and he dropped to the floor in a lifeless heap. I sighed and rolled my eyes.  
I turned back to my Uncle who was staring at me furiously. I waved him off as I got back on the rhinoceros, knowing what he was going to say.  
"I couldn't have them following us, Uncle," I said as I turned the beast around.  
"You have much to learn nephew," he replied simply, his voice heavy with sadness and disappointment.  
Ignored him and turned to my men. "Move out!"  
An hour and a half later, we were racing through the ocean, making good time. Uncle and I stood on the foredeck, facing each other angrily. He had been lecturing me for over an hour now for what I had done in that little village, and I was board with his nonsense. Those people's deaths had been necessary, and he was a fool for not seeing that clearly.  
He now moved on to the idiocy of my newest course of action.  
"Sailing into Fire Nation waters...of all the foolish things you have done in your nineteen years, Prince Ren, this is the most foolish," he said, sounding concerned a frustrated. I loved my uncle, but he was so infuriating, there were times when I honestly wanted to throw him overboard. This was one of those times.  
I pretended to not hear him and stood at the forefront of the ship, my back to him as I looked through a high powered spy glass. A guard was behind me to the left and my Uncle was on my right.  
He cleared his throat in annoyance.  
"I have no choice, Uncle," I sighed. I wanted . . . needed . . . him to understand.  
"Have you completely forgotten that the Fire Lord banished you?!" he snapped angrily. I turned away from the spyglass to look at him.  
With a look of anguish and worry on his face, he said, "What if you're caught?"  
"I'm chasing the Avatar. My father will understand why I'm returning home," I argued back, it was just my uncle who didn't understand.  
Uncle shook his head. "You give him too much credit. My brother is not the understanding type."  
I didn't want to hear anymore of this. My uncle was nothing more than a lazy old man who was jealous of his brother. My father was a great man, and once I returned, he would welcome me back with pride.  
I turned back to the spy glass, searching the skies for a few seconds and identified the dragon's flying form in the distance.  
"There they are! Helmsman, full steam ahead!" I snapped, and returned my attention to the spyglass.  
After we got close enough, a catapult was raised from below onto the deck of the ship. The catapult was loaded with a steaming and smoldering projectile. Uncle and I stood behind the catapult. Uncle pulled out his fan and began fanning himself, wrinkling his nose in disgust.  
He groaned. "Really, Prince Ren, couldn't you shoot them down with something more fragrant?"  
I snorted and shot a fire ball at the projectile and it ignited. I raised me arm in the air.  
"On my mark...Fire!" I ordered.  
A Fire Nation soldier cut the catapult's rope and the fiery projectile was hurtled into the air.

Kole:

"Odette, we got trouble," I said, watching as Ren's ship neared.  
Alana was next to me, peering over the edge as well. "Yeah, and its gaining fast!"

Suddenly, a massive fire ball zoomed towards Emrys. I tuned around to look at Odette.  
"Fire ball!" I warned.  
She nodded. "I'm on it!"  
She pulled hard on the reins and Emrys swerved just in time, the fire ball sailing over her head harmlessly.  
I covered my nose with my hand as the putrid smelling ball flew by. "We have to get out of Ren's range before he shoots another hot stinker at us!"  
"Can't you make Emrys go any faster?" Alana asked, her nose wrinkling in disgust.  
Odette held her nose. "Yeah, but there's just one little problem."  
Alana and I looked ahead and groaned. "A blockade!"  
I looked in dismay at the double line of Fire Nation war ships stretching to either side of the horizon. The decks of the war ships were lined with trebuchets.  
"If we fly north we can go around the Fire Nation ships and avoid the blockade. It's the only way," Odette said.  
I shook my head. "There's no time."  
If we did that, we would most definitely miss the solstice.  
She growled angrily. "This is exactly why I didn't want you to come. It's too dangerous."  
I gave her a look. "And that's exactly why we're here."  
"Let's run this blockade," Alana cried out in determination.  
"Emrys! Yip! Yip!" Odette said, angry.  
Emrys growled affirmatively and soared swiftly higher into the sky.  
Simultaneously, all the war ships in the blockade launched fire balls.  
Odette, Alana and I all screamed as the fire balls came racing towards us. Emrys swerved and dipped and dove to avoid the fire balls. Odette's teeth were clenched and her hands were tight around Emrys's reins as she tried to help the dragon avoid the fire balls. Suddenly, a fire ball came out of nowhere and grazer Emrys's back. Alana, Fang, and I beat out the fire on Emrys's back as she growled in anger and pain.  
"Emrys! Are you ok?" Odette asked worriedly.  
She growled affirmatively.  
"Launch!" we heard someone shout from below and braced ourselves for more fire.  
Each ship launched multiple fireballs into the air as Emrys burst through the clouds, a cumulus trail in her wake. Odette went back to trying to help Emrys avoid the fireball bombardment. In front of us, twelve fireballs shot through the clouds, smoke trailing behind them.  
Emrys swerved to miss one on her left. One exploded right in front of us and we all screamed again as Emrys swerved. She started to dive to avoid the fireballs. The smoke trails from multiple fireballs surrounded us as more continued to shoot through the sky. Two fireballs collided and exploded directly in front of us. Emrys growled and reared up to avoid the combustion. She bucked suddenly and Alana was thrown from her back. I screamed in terror and reached out for Alana but missed.  
She began to fall and disappeared into the clouds below. Odette screamed Alana's name and pulled hard on Emrys's reins and she dove to catch Alana before she hit the ocean.  
Emrys got beneath Alana as she continued to fall. I reached out my hand and clasped hers with mine, pulling her safely back into the saddle. Emrys hit the water, each of her four legs using the ocean's surface like a trampoline and began her ascent again, flapping her wings rapidly.  
I laughed when a large pink fish was thrown up from the ocean and hit Alana directly in the face. She gasped and fell backward as the fish bounced off her face to be caught by a yapping Fang.  
My laughter abruptly stopped though when the Fire Navy ships let loose another barrage of fiery missiles. Emrys, still close to the surface of the water, swerved back and forth as fireballs landed in the ocean.  
Once we cleared that attack, we flew headfirst into the Fire Navy blockade. The tension mounted as Emrys flew closer and closer to the blockade line.  
"Fire!"  
A single fireball was shot at us. With a determined look on her face, Odette suddenly leapt from Emrys. She assumed an airbending pose as she and the fireball headed on a collision course for one another.  
Odette grunted and kicked a burst of air directly into the center of the approaching fireball. The fireball exploded from the inside out as a result of her blast. The fragments form a halo of smoke and debris around Emrys who flew through the center of the halo. Odette lost her balance amidst the flying rubble and was thrown back onto Emrys's shoulders. Alana and I grabbed her arms to steady her.  
Emrys flew through the Fire Nation blockade with ease and we quickly flew away before anymore attacks could slow us down.  
Euphoric, Odette raised her left fist into the air.  
"We made it!" she cried jubilantly and we stared back at her, shocked.  
Alana, in pure disbelief, said, "We got into the Fire Nation...…" Her shoulders slumped "...Great…"

Ren:

I watched in disbelief as they made it through the blockade and continued on, disappearing from sight.  
Uncle stood beside me, pulling on his beard thoughtfully. "Technically you are still in Earth Kingdom waters. Turn back now and they cannot arrest you."  
I glared at me uncle. Great, either it was let Drake get the Avatar or try to run the blockade and get arrested. I decided I would go with the latter. I would die first before I let Drake get his hands on that infuriating girl.  
"She didn't turn around," I mutter, furious. I should have expected as much from her. She was gutsy, I'd give her that much.  
"Please Prince Ren, if the Fire Nation captures you, there is nothing I can do. Do not follow the Avatar," Uncle pleaded.  
I sighed and bowed my head. "I'm sorry, Uncle."  
Turning to my helmsman, I pointed forward. "Run the blockade!"  
As soon as we continued moving forward, fire balls started sailing towards my ship. I glanced around as a soldier tried to keep his balance. The ship was rocked by waves created by the fireballs hitting the water close by.  
One fireball landed extremely close to the ship and generated a wave that broke across the deck. Another fireball hit the back part of the ship and I braced myself against the catapult. I turned towards the front of the ship.  
The engine master called to me and I turned around to speak to him. The engine master pointed to the billowing fire and smoke behind him.  
"Prince Ren, the engines are damaged! We need to stop and make repairs!" he shouted.  
I narrowed my eyes and turned back towards the front of the ship. "Do not stop this ship."  
As we approached, I prepared to be stopped. Much to my surprise though, Drake's ship cut it's engines. He did not respond as my ship slid easily through the blockade.  
We stared at each other as we sailed by, our faces masked in determination. I didn't fully relax until the blockade was well behind us.  
Uncle and I looked at the blockade fading into the distance. He looked pensive and stroked his beard. I was not sure what to make of Drake's move. What was he plotting? Had he given up? Or was I about to sail directly into one of his traps? Whatever it was, I was through.  
Nothing was going to keep me from moving forward.

Odette:

We flew for hours in the empty Fire Nation sky. Emrys grunted as tiredness started to overtake her. We continued to fly, having nowhere to stop and rest.  
Her tail began to droop and her legs slackened as she got more and more tired. Kole and Alana were relaxing on her back. I was falling asleep where I sat at the reins, Fang curled up next to me in a big fluffy heap.  
I looked around and brightened in recognition when I spotted a crescent shaped island appearing through the clouds. In the center of the crescent was a large, active volcano. Fire and steam belched forth from its cone.  
"There it is! The island Koren's dragon took me to!" I said excitedly, rousing the others.  
Emrys flew toward the island. The temple I had been seeking sat on a promontory directly below the volcano.  
Emrys landed near the temple and I patted her face lovingly.  
"You did it buddy. Nice flying," I complimented her as we all got off.  
Emrys groaned and rolled onto her side in pure exhaustion. Kole walked towards her and began to rub her tummy. Alana was stretching nearby.  
"Oh! You must be tired!" he said to Emrys.  
Alana, thinking that Kole was talking to her, said, "No." She grunted and stretched some more and jogged in place fore a moment. "I'm good. Refreshed and ready to fight some firebenders."  
Kole turned towards Alana, a wry look on his face. "I was talking to Emrys."  
Alana stopped in mid jog, irked. "Well, I was talking to Fang."  
She pointed to Fang who was digging a hole in the ground next to a nearby tree. He barked and looked quizzically at Alana.  
I stared up the steep path leading to the Fire Temple. With Kole and Alana behind me, we walked hesitatingly up the path. We continually looked to our left and right in anticipation of an attack.  
After another hour of walking, we finally made it. We crouched behind a low wall in front of the temple.  
"I don't see any guards," Alana said, looking around.  
"The Fire Nation must have abandoned the temple when Avatar Koren died," Kole said, standing up.  
"It's almost sundown. We'd better hurry," I told them and leapt over the low wall. Alana, Kole and Fang followed me quickly. Knowing our time was short, we ran as fast as we could through the temple. As we neared its center, we began to tip-toe, not sure if this place was really abandoned or not. Alana stopped in mid tip-toe.  
"Wait...I think I heard something," she warned.  
We all turned around and froze when we saw five elderly men in red robes behind us. One of the elderly men spoke and identified the group.  
"We are the Fire Sages. Guardians of the temple of the Avatar," he said in a deep gravely voice.  
We all had either a puzzled or a startled look on our faces. I shook off my momentary surprise and stepped forward.  
"Great! I am the Avatar," I said, relieved. What hard could they do? Besides, they said they were the guardians; they could help me speak with Koren.  
"We know," the same Fire Sage said, his voice low and dangerous.  
Three of the Fire Sages assumed firebending stances and shot fireballs at me.  
The fire was swiftly approaching me and I quickly assumed my airbending stance and deflected the fireballs.  
Okay, so maybe they weren't here to help me.  
I turned towards Alana and Kole.  
"I'll hold them off. Run!"  
I turned back to face the Fire Sages as Alana and Kole ran down the corridor. I bent low and swiped my leg in an arc, sending a burst of air directly at the feet of the Sages. All five of them were knocked to the floor, face first, grunting as they fell. As soon as I was on my feet again I ran after Alana and Kole.  
"If the Avatar contacts Koren, there's no telling how powerful the girl will become. Split up and find her!" they shouted.  
I had no idea which tunnel the others had taken, so I picked one at random and started running down that one. After a few moments, I heard their footsteps and I rounded a corner to incept them. They stopped abruptly to avoid running head first into me.  
"Follow me!" I said, and turned back around.  
"Do you know where you're going?" Alana asked as they tried to catch up.  
"Nope!" I called back as I disappeared around the corner. I made it about five feet before smacking into a Fire Sage. I shoved him away and spun around, darting around the corner and practically flying back down the tunnel.  
"Wrong way!" I called as they ran after me, the Fire Sage hard on my heels.  
"Come back!" he called.  
We continued to race around corner after corner, trying to lose the pursuing firebender. Finally, we ran into a corridor that turned out to be a dead end. With no escape, we faced the Fire Sage, sliding into battle positions.  
"I don't want to fight you. My name is Shyu. I am a friend," he huffed as he ran up.  
Alana snorted. "Firebenders aren't our friends."  
Shyu moved carefully towards us. As he approached me, he dropped to his knees and bowed.  
"I know why you're here, Avatar," he said.  
I blinked in surprise and relaxed my poise. "You do?"  
"Yes," he said and stood up. "You wish to speak to Avatar Koren. I can take you to him."  
I looked over at Kole and Alana; their faces were quizzical and wary.  
I turned back to Shyu. "How?"  
He reached towards the wall and turned a light fixture that turned out to be a lever. Behind the fixture was small hole in the wall. Shyu took a deep breath and shot fire through the hole. Fire framed one of the panels in the wall and it slid back and to the right, revealing a secret passage. A long staircase carved into the rock of the mountain disappeared into the dark below.  
Shyu gestured towards the secret passage. "This way."  
I didn't follow immediately, still a little apprehensive. I glanced at the others and they looked at Shyu with equal distrust.  
Suddenly a voice from behind Shyu said, "Find them." He looked quickly and nervously behind him and turned back to Kole and Alana and I.  
"Time is running out. Quickly!" he urged.  
Kole and I looked at each other and nodded in agreement, thinking the same exact thing. We had no other choice. We started towards the opening to the secret passage with Fang growling at Shyu as we passed, his hackles raised.  
Shyu followed us into the passage. He touched a lever and closed the door behind us.

Ren:

Dark black smoke billowed from the back of my damaged ship as we sailed through the water.  
I was still trying to figure out what Drake was planning, and I gripped a bar in agitation.  
What if he somehow got to the Avatar before I did? What if I was leading him right to her? My hand clenched at that though and gnashed my teeth together. I simply could not let that happen.  
"What's he up to, Uncle? Why didn't Commander Drake arrest me?" I asked him.  
He spoke up from behind me, confirming what I had already guessed. "Because he wants to follow you. He knows you'll lead him to the prize you're both after...the Avatar."  
I set my face in determination and looked at him, glancing at a one person canoe strapped to the side of the ship.  
"If Drake wants to follow our trail of smoke, then that's exactly what I'll let him do."  
"What are you talking about?" Uncle asked, looking at me like I had gone mad.  
I turned to him and explained my plan  
"I'll take the canoe and use the smoke for cover. When I'm a good distance away, you change the ship's course and lead Drake off in a different direction. He'll never suspect!"  
I laughed at my own sneakiness. This was exactly the kind of diversion I needed.  
I wasted no time and informed my men of the plan. I instructed the men to open the back hatch of the ship and the canoe was lowered into the ocean. Uncle followed me around unhappily as I shouted orders and prepared to leave.  
Just as I was about to climb into the canoe, I turned to him.  
"Uncle, keep heading north. Drake will follow the smoke trail while I use it as a cover," I reminded him.  
He grunted, stroked his beard and shook his head disapprovingly.  
I sighed and backed down the rope ladder. I landed safely in the canoe and quickly paddled away.  
I needed to put as much distance as possible between me and Drake if this plan was going to work at all.

Odette:

We followed Shyu grudgingly, walking down the stairs and into a vast and cavernous system of tunnels. We continued to walk through them, the live magma from the volcano to our right.  
"Avatar Koren once called this temple his home. He formed these secret passages out of the magma," Shyu said.  
"Did you know Avatar Koren?" I asked, curious.  
He shook his head. "No. But my grandfather knew him. Many generations of Fire Sages guarded this temple long before me. We all have a strong spiritual connection to this place."  
I looked at him in wonder. "Is that how you knew I was coming?"  
"A few weeks ago, an amazing thing occurred. The statue of Avatar Koren, its eyes...began to glow!"  
"That's when we were at the Air Temple. Avatar Koren's eyes were glowing there too!" Kole said, stunned for a moment.  
"At that moment, we knew you had returned to the world," Shyu said.  
I mentally kicked myself. I should never have left in the first place.  
"If this is the Avatar's temple, why did the Sages attack me?" I asked him, still not too clear on that part.  
Shyu looked down in disgrace. "Things have changed. In the past, the Sages were loyal only to the Avatar. When Koren died, the Sages eagerly awaited for the next Avatar to return. But he never came."  
I paused and leaned against the tunnel wall, guilt washing through me. "They were waiting for me."  
Alana put her arm around my shoulders. "Hey, don't feel bad. You're only a hundred years late," she said sarcastically.  
I glared at her. I should feel bad. I had let the world down. I was directly responsible for it's downfall, for every single person who had died during my absence. The way things were now, it was my entire fault.  
When Shyu continued to speak, I looked back up at him.  
"They lost hope the Avatar would ever return. When Fire Lord Ezra began the war, my grandfather and the other Sages were forced to follow him," he said and shook his head in dismay. "I never wanted to serve the Fire Lord. When I learned you were coming, I knew I would have to betray the other Sages."  
I smiled. I owed this man much, for staying so loyal to the Avatar even though I had disgraced that title. He would suffer if it was ever discovered that he helped me. I bowed respectfully to the old man.  
"Thank you for helping me," I said sincerely.  
He smiled warmly at me before we continued climbing up steps in the tunnel.  
"We'll follow these stairs to the sanctuary," he said, gesturing to a long deep spiral of stairs. We continued to climb up and up.  
"Once you're inside, wait for the light to hit Avatar Koren's statue. Only then will you be able to speak with him."  
We walked up the final steps into the temple and proceeded towards the doors to the sanctuary. Shyu gasped suddenly.  
"NO!"  
I placed a hand on his shoulder, concerned. "Shyu, what's wrong?"  
"The sanctuary doors, they're closed," he said, his voice empty.  
Kole frowned, confused. "Can't you just open them with firebending? Like you opened that other door?"  
Shyu shook his head. "No. Only a fully realized Avatar is powerful enough to open this door alone. Otherwise the Sages must open the doors together with five simultaneous fire blasts."  
Alana studied the door for a moment, scratching her chin as she thought.  
"Five fire blasts, huh?" she repeated and her face lit up with an idea. "I think I can help you out."  
Alana walked over and sat down next to the door, rifling through her bag for something while Fang came over and watched her, leaning his two front paws on her knee. Shyu, Kole, and I watched her curiously as she explained.  
She pulled out multiple little sacks and started filling them with something.  
"This is a little trick I picked up from my father. I seal the lamp oil inside an animal skin casing, Shyu lights the oil soaked twine and tada! Fake firebending!" she said victoriously as she finished up with the sacks.  
Kole nodded his approval. "You've really outdone yourself this time, Alana."  
Shyu smiled in agreement. "This might actually work."  
We all got into our positions.  
Alana stuffed the animal skin sacks into the mouths of the five dragon heads guarding the door to the sanctuary before she ran away from the doors. She joined Kole, Fang, and I behind the nearest columns for protection from the blasts.  
Shyu turned to me. "The Sages will hear the explosions, so as soon as they go off, you rush in."  
Kole turned towards me as well. "It's almost sunset. Are you ready?"  
No.  
"Definitely," I told him and tried to smile convincingly. One the inside, I felt like I was going to explode from all the tension. What if I was too late? What if Koren didn't want to see me, or was angry with me for my disappearance? I braced myself as Shyu got into position.  
He sent a small stream of fire past the five dragon heads and the twine ignited. Shyu joined me behind my column. Alana crouched and held tightly onto Kole's coat. The small bombs went off and smoke filled the chamber. Without missing a beat, I ran towards the doors and pulled on the handles. The doors would not budge.  
I gapped. "They're still locked."  
Shyu hung his head in dismay. "It didn't work."  
I sunk to the floor, wishing I had never let Alana and Kole come. Now, we all were going to die for my mistake.  
After sulking for a few moments, white hot anger filled me. I started angrily hurling air blasts at the locked doors while the others stood right behind me.  
"Why won't it open? Aargh!" I screeched in frustration.  
Kole came up, grabbing my arm. "Odette, stop! There's nothing else we can do."  
I hung my head guiltily. "I'm sorry I put you through all this for nothing."  
Alana approached the doors and ran her finger through the soot produced by the blasts. Fang barked and crawls over the dragon faces.  
She frowned. "I don't get it. That blast looked as strong as any firebending I've seen."  
Kole gasped excitedly. "Alana! You're a genius!"  
I shook my head, completely lost. "Wait, how is Alana genius? Her plan didn't even work."  
Alana grinned cheekily. "Come on Odette, let him dream."  
Kole turned to me. "You're right. Alana's plan didn't work...but it looked like it did."  
I was still confused. "Did the definition of "genius" change in the last hundred years?"  
Kole turned to Shyu.  
"Shyu, go to the Fire Sages and alert them that the Avatar has entered the sanctuary. Fang is small enough to fit underneath the doors. It will look like you are actually in there, Odette," he said, pleased with himself.  
It sounded like it would work. I looked at Shyu and nodded. He gave me a look before running off. The rest of us took up our places while Fang slid under the doors.  
A short while later, Shyu returned, leading the four other Fire Sages to the sanctuary's doors.  
"Hurry! The Avatar has entered the sanctuary," he was saying.  
"How did she get in?" one of them snapped.  
Shyu shrugged. "I don't know. But look at the scorch marks and down there!"  
He pointed to the space between the doors and the floor. A shadow, as if of three feet, moved back and forth.  
"She's inside. Open the doors immediately before she contacts Avatar Koren,"  
someone said, panicked.  
I was perched on the dragon's tail wrapped around the columns, slowly inching my way to the floor, ready to run the minute the Fire Sages opened the doors.  
I watched as the Fire Sages shot five fire blasts into the dragon's heads on the face of the door. Smoke appeared around the door jambs. As the fire blasts worked their way through the lock, the doors began to creak and open slowly. The light from the interior of the sanctuary was initially blinding. As it began to dissipate, a lone Fang sat inside the sanctuary. Fang sneezed and looked quizzically at the Fire Sages.  
One of them gasped. "It's the Avatar's wolf! He must have crawled through the door! We've been tricked!"  
Fang suddenly leaped at the Fire Sage's face, knocking him down as his claws ripped at the man's armor.  
Kole and Alana jumped from behind two columns and grabbed the two nearest Fire Sages. They pulled the Fire Sages' clothes over their heads while Shyu grabbed the last Sage. All four Fire Sages were subdued.  
"Now, Odette!" Shyu called to me.  
"Odette! Now's your chance!" Kole second.  
I was just about to come out from behind my column when I felt a hand close over my mouth and an arm try to snake around my neck. I pushed the arm away and spun around, coming face to face with Ren. His golden eyes glittered down at me dangerously.  
I started to scream as he grabbed hold of my wrists and squeezed tightly. He leaned in close so he could whisper in my ear.  
"Be quiet or else I will kill your little peasant friends," he snarled and I stiffened. I stopped struggling, letting him turn me back around so he could hold both my arms tightly behind my back.  
"Ren please, let me go," I asked him as quietly as I could.  
"Now why would I do that?" he snorted, pulling my arms back tighter.  
"What do you want? I'm no used to you," I hissed, getting angry.  
He laughed coldly. "You're my only way of getting home."  
I turned my head slightly to glare at him. "How so?"  
"Because my father banished me and delivering you to him is the only way I get to go home. Stop talking!"  
He pushed me out from behind the column, then after a pause or two he followed. He was still holding my arms tightly, pulling them back until they started to ache.  
"The Avatar's coming with me!" he said smugly, his eyes glaring daggers at my shocked companions.  
The tables suddenly turned for Kole, Alana, Shyu and Fang. The Fire Sages came to and Fang ran towards the door. Kole, Alana and Shyu were tied with chains to the nearest column. As the Sages were busy, Ren started pushing me towards the opening in the floor that lead to Avatar Koren's secret tunnels. I struggled and fought against him, trying to break free but he only held me tighter.  
"Close the doors! Quickly!" he shouted at the sages.  
I looked over my shoulder at Alana and Kole and winked. I didn't plan on going anywhere, not without a fight.  
As Ren and I reached the opening, I made several swift moves and knocked him off balance. I kicked him down the stairs and turned around quickly. As Ren tumbled down with a grunt, I ran towards the doors of the sanctuary which were beginning to close.  
"Go!" Kole shouted to me.  
I banked left and jumped into the air to avoid a fire blast, doing several turns in mid-air. I used the heads of two of the Fire Sages as stepping stones on my way to the doors. I sailed through the doors just as they were closing. The locks grinded as the doors shut.  
I crouched on the floor in front of Avatar Koren's statue. The setting sunlight came through an octagonal window at the top of the sanctuary. The light was reddish and moved slowly up the great statue.  
I stood up, confused. "The light hits the statue and I talk to Koren. So why isn't anything happening?"  
I stood in the center of the sanctuary, facing Koren's statue. The light from the window was now on Koren's chest.  
"Why isn't anything happening? I don't know what I'm doing! All I know is airbending! Please, Avatar Koren, talk to me!" I begged.  
I stared at him as the sunlight moved up his face. When the light hit the statue's eyes, they began to glow. The sanctuary was filled with white smoke. When the smoke cleared, Odette was standing face to face with Avatar Koren. I glanced around in surprise and found us standing on the top of a mountain range.  
"It's good to see you, Odette. What took you so long?" he said in a deep warm, gravelly voice.  
Shocked and amazed, I bowed deeply to Avatar Koren.

Ren:

Four of the Fire Sages and I assumed firebending stances and shot five simultaneous fire blasts at the doors. This time, however, the lock mechanism did not respond.  
"Why isn't it working? It's sealed shut!" I snapped, extremely aggravated by this point.  
"It must have been the light. Avatar Koren doesn't want us inside," one of the Sages said, frustrated.  
That damn girl better let me inside, I though furiously. I still couldn't believe that she had gotten away from me. Again! She was more dangerous than I had thought, she'd outsmarted me. And I hated that.  
I turned to the man, Shyu, who was kneeling on the floor in front of me. His hands were tied behind his back and the four Fire Sages stood behind him.  
I took a threatening step forward. "Why did you help the Avatar?"  
He looked back at me evenly. "Because it was once the Sages' duty. It is still our duty."  
Suddenly, from behind me, came the sound of one pair of hands clapping. I turned and froze when I saw Commander Drake approaching with Fire Nation troops.  
How was he here? I had made sure that he had followed my uncle. I could not believe my luck today!  
"What a moving and heartfelt performance. I'm certain the Fire Lord will understand when you explain why you betrayed him."  
One of the Fire Sages bowed. "Commander Drake…"  
Drake turned to me, grinning nastily. "And Prince Ren, it was a noble effort. But your little smoke screen didn't work. Two traitors, in one day, the Fire Lord will be pleased."  
A Fire Nation soldier moved toward me and grabbed me. I strained against him, thinking of how ironic this situation was. Karma sucked.  
I glared furiously at Drake. "You're too late, Drake. The Avatar's inside and the doors are sealed."  
He laughed and shook his head. "No matter. Sooner or later, she has to come out."

Odette:

Koren looked down at me seriously.  
"I have something very important to tell you, Odette. That is why, when you were in the spirit world, I sent my dragon to find you," he said.  
"Is it about that vision? The one with the comet?" I guessed.  
He nodded. "Yes."  
I frowned up at him curiously. "What does it mean?"  
The light of the mountain range faded into a starry night sky. The comet slowly crossed overhead behind Koren as he spoke, going from left to right.  
"One hundred years ago, Fire Lord Ezra used that comet to begin the war. He and his firebending army harnessed its incredible power and dealt a deadly first strike against the other nations."  
My eyes followed the arc of the comet across the sky. The scene slowly faded to the light of the mountain range as the comet approached me. I was standing on the right side of Koren as the comet slowly faded away.  
"So the comet made them stronger?" I clarified.  
"Yes. Stronger than you could even imagine," he said gravely.  
"But that happened a hundred years ago. What does the comet have to do with the war now?"  
"Listen carefully," he said, and the scene changed again to an image of Fire Lord Mordred. His body was black against a wall of flames. "Ezra's comet will return by the end of the summer. And Fire Lord Zane will use its power to finish the war once and for all." Zane took a deep breath, raised his head, and screamed a burst of fire from his open mouth. I flinched as the image faded and returned to Koren's face.  
"If he succeeds, even the Avatar won't be able to restore balance to the world. Odette, you must defeat the Fire Lord before the comet arrives."  
I gaped, fear coursing through me. "But I haven't even started learning waterbending, not to mention earth and fire."  
Koren gazed at me seriously. "Mastering the elements takes years of discipline and practice. But if the world is to survive, you must do it by summer's end."  
Fear and worry washed across my features. How was I going to do this in just a few short months? I knew I had to, because if I didn't, the end of the world would be all my fault.  
I looked up at Koren. "What if I can't master all the elements in time? What if I fail?"  
He smiled comfortingly. "I know you can do it Odette, for you have done it before. The solstice is ending. We must go our separate ways...for now."  
No! He couldn't leave. There was still so much I needed to know.  
"But I won't be able to come back to the temple. What if I have questions? How will I talk to you?"  
He placed a hand on my shoulder. "I am a part of you. When you need to talk to me again, you will find a way."  
He closed his golden eyes for a moment before they flashed open again with determination."A great danger awaits you at the temple. I can help you face the threat. But only if you are ready."  
As he spoke, my tattoos began to glow and my eyes burned. Even my mouth began to feel hot with the strange Avatar glow. I closed my eyes and then opened them, knowing they were glowing that bright incandescent blue color.  
"I'm ready," I said, determined. Nothing was going to stop me now.

Kole:

I watched with worry as the commander and his troops stood in front of the sanctuary doors, waiting for Odette to emerge. The troops assumed firebending stances.  
"When those doors open, unleash all your firebending power," one of the men snapped. Ren had referred to him as Commander Drake, and the two didn't seem to like each other very much, considering the fact that he had chained Ren up almost as soon as he saw him.  
Served him right.  
Alana, Shyu, and I were still chained to our own uncomfortable column.  
"How's Odette going to make it out of this?" I said worriedly.  
Alana snorted. "How're we going to make it out of this?"  
Suddenly, a blinding white light was coming from inside the sanctuary. Commander Drake and his troops were silhouetted against the light. Smoke billowed out into the entryway from the bottom of the door. The Fire Sages looked at the floor in shock and fear as it swirled around them.  
The light from the sanctuary continued to grow and the three of us had to turn our heads away to shield our eyes. I looked back to Drake and his troops in front of the door as it slowly began to open.  
"Ready…" I heard Drake call.  
The light faded and everyone was able to look up again. As the doors began to fully open, two large glowing eyes were visible in the dark of the sanctuary. Smoke continued to emanate from the sanctuary. Alana and I struggled against the chains, panicking now.  
"No! Odette!" I yelled at her.  
At the same time, Drake shouted, "Fire!"  
My heart skipped a beat.  
Drake shot a fire blast into the sanctuary. In total, nine soldiers, including Drake, were concentrating all their fire power at the entrance to the sanctuary.  
I relaxed, confused, when I realized the fire blasts were not entering the sanctuary. They were being held at the door and manipulated into a gigantic ball of swirling fire. It slowly began to open and at the heart of the fire ball was Avatar Koren, his eyes glowing. I glared smugly at Drake's shocked face.  
"Avatar Koren!" I heard Shyu gasp, his face glowing with relief and respect.  
Avatar Koren drew the fire ball back towards himself and shot it out into the room. Drake and his soldiers were knocked to the floor. The heat of the blast melted the chains holding Alana, Shyu, Ren, and I. Ren, now free, ran as fast as he could.  
Coward. Smart, but still a coward in my opinion.  
I looked back to the Avatar. His entire body was now glowing. He turned to look at the cowering Fire Sages and they took flight and ran for their lives.  
Shyu started tugging on my arm. "Avatar Koren's going to destroy the temple! We have to get out of here!"  
I pulled free of him and stood stiffly in one spot. "Not without Odette!"  
Avatar Koren still stood in the doorway to the sanctuary. He raised his arm and brought it down on the floor of the temple. The force of his strike reddened the floor and molten lava rose to the surface. He lifted it up, pulling the magma from deep within the volcano.  
A wall of magma shot up through the entire temple structure. The lava exploded out of the very top of the temple.  
Alana and I were crouching behind a column for protection.  
Avatar Koren lowered his hands. He took a deep breath and pushed his breath down. The smoke created by Koren's fiery display was sucked back towards him. He was completely shrouded in the smoke. As the smoke swirls and dissipated, Odette was standing in the entryway to the sanctuary. Her eyes were glowing and she had small bloody cuts all over her face from the falling debris. Her long dark hair swirled wildly around her slight face.  
She closed her eyes, groaned, and sank to the floor. Alana and I ran to her side as the air stopped rushing around her  
"We got your back," Alana said.  
She smiled back tiredly. "Thanks." She turned to me, her grey eyes drooping. "Where's Shyu?"  
I frowned and looked around. "I don't know."  
As we felt the temple begin to sink, we quickly approached the stairs that would lead us out of the temple. Lava has reached all but the top few steps and we realized that we were trapped. One of the columns crashed to the floor behind us and we gasped and ran towards the hole in the temple wall created by Koren's blast. We looked around and saw that the temple was being devoured by the volcano.  
I gasped and pointed up.  
"Look!"  
The others looked up to see Fang and Emrys flying full speed towards the temple. Alana, Odette and I slid down one of the peaks of the temple onto Emrys's back. Emrys zoomed away just as the temple sunk further.  
Odette sat near the front of the saddle, her arm resting on a bundle of scrolls. Fang hopped up onto her lap, panting happily, wearing the hat of one of the Fire Sages on his head.  
We laughed shakily with relief.  
I glanced down over the side of the saddle and, surprised, saw Ren's ship sailing away from the ruined Fire Temple. He was watching us with his spyglass. I shook my head and leaned away, board.

Odette:  
A few hours later, Emrys was still flying silently through the night sky, surrounded by puffy clouds. The bright full moon illuminated her wings, turning them a light silver color. Fang looked like a complete ghost where he slept silently beside me.  
I had drawn apart from my friends, scared and worried about the comet, about what I was going to have to do. I was frightened that I wouldn't be able to master the elements in time. But I was even more afraid of taking the Fire Lord's life.  
It was against everything I knew, killing another living being. It was why I was a vegetarian, I refused to eat or harm anything that had a life. So how could I possibly kill Zane? I knew that he was bad and was a danger to the world, that he had to be stopped. But there had to be another way to stop him. I would not kill him, a living breathing person with a soul. I would find another way, somehow.  
I sighed and my head hung down with the weight of what I had learned. First Kole got up and moves towards me. He sat next to me and put his arm around my shoulders. Next Alana, got up and moved, sitting next to me, her hand on my arm. Finally, Fang padded over. He barked and came to rest directly in front of me. Emrys growled lovingly, her tail rising and falling.  
I smiled, happy to still be surrounded by all the people I loved.


	10. Chapter 9: The Waterbending Scroll

Odette:

I paced up and down restlessly as Emrys flew through a mostly cloudy sky, broken only by a few shafts of sunlight that pierced the cloud cover in certain areas. I stared at the floor of the saddle, a worried expression on my face as I paced while Alana drove Emrys. It had been like this for a better part of the day.  
Alana turned slightly, annoyed. "Would you sit down? If we hit a bump you'll go flying off! What's bugging you anyway?"  
I sighed in frustration. I had explained everything already last night as we'd left the temple. Why Ren was chasing me and what I had to do, why I didn't want to do it.  
I decided to just repeat what was bugging me the most at the moment.  
"It's what Avatar Koren said. I'm supposed to master all four elements before that comet arrives," I said, still pacing. I had been trying to figure that part out all morning.  
"Well, let's see, you've pretty much mastered airbending and that only took you one hundred-seventeen years...I'm sure you can master three more elements by next summer," she said sarcastically.  
I looked at her, a frightened expression on my face. "I haven't even started waterbending and we're still weeks away from the North Pole! What am I gonna do!?"  
I put my head in my hand in frustration, my left arm hanging loose at my side. Kole leaned over and grabbed my hand gently. He pulled me to him where he was kneeling in the passenger area. I sighed and knelt beside him as he took my hands in his.  
He smiled calmly. "Calm down. It's going to be okay. If you want, I can try and teach you some of the stuff I know."  
I brightened, searching his bright blue eyes curiously. "You'd do that?"  
Kole nodded his head and smiled. He and I then crawled over to the edge of the saddle to look down.  
"We'll need to find a good source of water first," he said, looking around.  
"Maybe we can find a puddle for you to splash in," Alana piped up, her voice filled with a mocking tone.  
About ten minutes later we found our water source, a huge waterfall with a river flowing swiftly by.  
Kole, Alana, Fang, and I stood on the left bank a little ways off from the bottom of the waterfall where the water was calmer. I looked over at Alana and Kole excitedly. She looked a little sour while he looked up in excitement and happiness at the mighty waterfall.  
"Nice puddle," she said, sarcastic as ever.  
We walked over a little ways and stood out in the catch basin of the water fall. Emrys swooped in overhead, roared loudly and dropped herself into the water. Fang was on a rock in the catch basin. The sun was blotted by a shadow – a wave of water from Emrys's messy swan dive. The wave crashed over her and she was soaked. She rolled over in the water, relaxing.  
I started removing my clothes, leaving my wrap for swimming on, greedy to join the fun. Kole did not look pleased.  
"Yehhhh! Don't start without me, girl!" I called to her.  
Kole cleared his throat pointedly. "Remember the reason we're here."  
Caught at the moment of running to jump in the water, I stopped and looked back to him.  
I smiled sheepishly as I threw my normal clothing back on. "Oh right, time to practice waterbending."  
"Great. So what am I supposed to do?" Alana asked, annoyed.  
"You could...clean the gunk out of Emrys's toes?" I said awkwardly.  
I picked up a leafy branch and held it out to Alana, who folded her arms across her chest.  
"So, while you guys are playing in the water, I'm supposed to be hard at work picking the mud out of a giant dragon's feet?" she clarified.  
I smiled cutely. "Mud and bugs!"  
"Okay," she said after pausing for a moment.  
Alana grabbed the branch and walked away, resigned to her task.

Ren:

I fired blast after blast of fire at my sparring opponent, taking all of my frustration out on him.  
Drake. Blast. Uncle. Blast. Father. Blast. The girl. Blast, blast, blast.  
I still couldn't believe she had escaped me. I seriously needed to stop underestimating her. Next time we met, I would have a handle on things. After all, I still had that necklace I could use against them.  
Suddenly the ship tilted to starboard, knocking both my sparring partner and I off balance.  
I snarled angrily. What was going on here?! I hadn't given any orders to change direction!  
"Someone's changing our course!" I hissed furiously.  
I looked up furiously to the bridge, spotting the helmsman at the wheel. Without wasting a moment, I stomped up there and slammed the door wide open. I stormed in furiously, walking right up to the helmsman.  
"What's the meaning of this mutiny? No one told you to change course!" I yelled.  
The helmsman nodded over to his left. I looked over to see Uncle and some other crewman playing Pai Sho nearby.  
Uncle grinned sheepishly. "Actually, someone did. I assure you it is a matter of utmost importance, Prince Ren."  
I perked up, walking over to him hopefully. "Is it something to do with the Avatar?" What could be more important that that?  
He shook his head. "Even more urgent. It seems...I've lost my lotus tile."  
He moved a piece forward on the Pai Sho board.  
"Lotus tile?" I said, mystified.  
Uncle nodded. "For my Pai Sho game. Most people think the lotus tile insignificant, but it is essential for the unusual strategy that I employ."  
"You've changed our course for a stupid lotus tile?" I asked, incensed.  
"See, you, like most people, underestimate its value. Just give me ten minutes to check the merchants at this port of call. Hopefully they'll have the lotus tile in stock and I can get on with my life!" he said dramatically.  
I worked hard to contain my anger, ultimately releasing a gout of flame from my mouth that licked over the ceiling. I looked furiously down at a smiling Ira, who was soon clouded with smoke.  
"I'm lucky to have such an understanding nephew," he said happily as I stormed away.

Kole:

As Odette got ready, I watched as Alana flossed Emrys's toes with the leafy branch. Emrys was floating on her back with her wings spread out, Alana hard at work on her toes while the huge beast grunted happily.  
"Yeh, don't get too happy. You gotta do me next," Alana said, irritated.  
Odette cleared her throat and I turned around and met her on the river bank. As I began to explain, I started to waterbend the move I was describing.  
"This is a pretty basic move, but it still took me months to perfect, so don't be frustrated if you don't get it right away. Just push and pull the water like this…"  
I began to bob gracefully back and forth, the water on the river edge moving back and forth with me.  
"The key is getting the wrist movement right," I said as I concentrated.  
Odette got up and imitated me. "Like this?"  
I looked over at her to check her position before turning back to the water in front of me. "That's almost right, if you keep practicing, I'm sure eventually –"  
"Hey, I'm bending it already!" Odette exclaimed and I looked over, surprised.  
She was moving around a respectably sized wave of water, executing moves that ii had never even seen or heard of before.  
I blinked. "Wow, I can't believe you got that so quickly. It took me two months to learn that move," I said, a little unhappy.  
Odette shrugged and winked at me. "Well, you had to figure it out on your own. I'm lucky enough to have a great teacher."  
"Thanks," I said, smiling as I shook of my annoyance.  
"So, what's next," she asked eagerly.  
Since she seemed to have things basically figured out, I decided to make things a little tougher. "This is a more difficult move. I call it "streaming the water.'"  
I moved my hands and pulled out of a stream of water from the river and began to loop it around.  
"It's harder than it looks so don't be disappointed if…"  
I glanced up and to my amazement I saw that Odette had already mastered this move. She was moving her stream of water around as if it were a toy while I stood motionless. After a few minutes of her frolicking, my mood soured. I dropped my water stream.  
Odette played with hers for a few more seconds and then dumped it back into the river.  
I nodded, trying to keep hold of my annoyance. "Nice work, though the over-the-head flare was unnecessary."  
She blushed. "Sorry. Well, don't stop now, keep'em coming!"  
I pondered for a moment, trying to think of the hardest one I knew. "Well, I kind of know this one other move, but it's pretty hard. I haven't even totally figured it out yet. The idea is to create a big, powerful wave…"  
I concentrated, raised a blob of water out of the river, but it fell back upon itself when my concentration collapsed. Odette set up to try.  
"So, like this?" She raised her hands and a huge wall of water shot up into the air. I gapped at her furiously. How was this possible? The girl had never bent water a day in her life and yet she was already better than I was!  
As the huge wall of water built, Alana turned and her eyes went wide.  
"Odette!" Alana said warningly.  
She got soaked as the wave broke over her and Emrys. A moment later, Alana came up out of the water since she had been washed off Emrys.  
Odette turned back to me happily. "Looks like I got the hang of that move! What else ya got?"  
"That's enough practicing for today," I said crossly.  
"Yeh, I'll say!" Alana seconded and pointed downstream to a bunch of bags floating down the river. "You just practiced our supplies down the river!"  
"Uhh...sorry. I'm sure we can find somewhere to replace all this stuff," she said, guilty.  
"Ugh, it was hard enough when you were just an airbender," she shot back before sinking back down into the water.  
After half an hour of flying around, we finally found a little port village. We landed a little ways away from the village, hiding Emrys before we went in.  
As we walked down a market street, we stuck close together as tough looking sailors, merchants and shady types ran past each other.  
I put my arms around Odette and Alana's shoulders protectively as different men eyed them as we walked by.  
Just ahead of us, a big man was holding up a much smaller one for some reason, as the smaller one yelled, "Please, put me down!"  
Another shopkeeper in blue was addressing a crowd, holding up a sack and asking, "Who's brave enough to look into this bag?"  
We found a vacant looking shop and Odette and I sat in the shop window while Alana rifled through our last bag.  
"We've got exactly three copper pieces left from the money that King Bumi gave us. Let's spend it wisely," she said.  
"Uhh, make that two copper pieces, Alana. I couldn't say no to this whistle!" Odette said, producing a gold whistle in the shape of a dragon from behind her back. She drew in a great breath and blew into it. Alana stuffed her fingers in her ears to stop the sound. Nothing happened – only the sound of rushing air.  
Alana quirked an eyebrow. "It doesn't even work." Fang yapped into Odette's ear as his master stopped blowing into it. "See, even Fang thinks it's a piece of junk."  
I smiled and shook my head. "No offense, Odette, but I'll hold the money from now on."  
Odette looked guilty and then handed over the money to me while I tried to keep from laughing at her expression.  
Suddenly, a loud male voice boomed out over the port. Odette's head shot up in curiosity. We looked over at one of the larger ships at the dock where one of the crew was soliciting customers.  
"Earth Nation! Fire Nation! Water Nation! So long as bargains are your inclination, you're welcome here! Don't be shy, come one by!"  
I leaned towards Odette. "Don't even think-"  
She slid off the window and hurried toward the ship.  
"-about it," I finished sarcastically as I watched her go.  
Alana rolled her eyes, "Come on, we'd better go and make sure she doesn't get into trouble.  
I sighed and followed her.  
We caught up to her just as she was approaching the man. I grabbed her arm and spun her back around, pushing her forward, trying to make it look like we were just passing by. The man ran right up to us, but we kept walking. I tossed an arm around her shoulders to keep her from taking off again.  
"Oh! You there! I can see by your clothing that you're world traveling types. Perhaps I can interest you in some exotic curios?" the Barker asked.  
Odette slipped out from under my arm and turned to the man excitedly.  
"Sure! What are curios?"  
"I'm not entirely sure, but we got'em!" the Barker said after a pause.  
The man took Odette by the shoulders and bustled them onto to the ship. I glowered after them, not liking this one bit.  
Alana and I followed them inside. I quickly spotted Odette and walked up to her, irritated.  
"Would you stop running off. Ren is out looking for you and so is Drake. You're making it impossible for us to protect you," I growled as quietly as possible.  
She snorted. "I don't nee you or Alana protecting me. I can take care of myself."  
I rolled my eyes at her stubbornness. "I know but still. Ren and Drake have tons of men at their disposal. It wouldn't be hard to capture you with that many soldiers."  
She turned to glare at me in annoyance. "Drake expects me to stick to the sky. He won't waste his time here. Ren is too proud to let anyone else capture me. He'll do it himself and I'm pretty sure I could take them both if it came down to it," she snapped.  
I crossed my arms and glared at her.  
She sighed and punched my arm lightly. "Fine, I'll stay close. Try to relax and have some fun for once."  
I groaned as Alana came over. We started looking around the crew's hold, gawking at their wares. Just by the looks of all their things, it was obvious that these men were Pirates.  
After a while I did start enjoying myself, looking at all the artifacts from around the world. I started breaking off with the others, looking at different objects. I was momentarily mesmerized by a stone monkey richly jeweled with large, blood red rubies, when a sinister voice spoke just behind me.  
"I've never seen such a fine specimen of wolf. That beast would fetch me a hefty sum, if you'd be interested in bartering," I jumped and turned around.  
In the midst of speaking, who I suspected was the Captain, entered from a dark doorway. He wore a wide brim hat and had a huge green parrot like creature on his shoulder, which screamed several times when the Captain was finished. He was leaning close to Odette, who hugged Fang protectively.  
"Fang's not for sale," she said defensively. I thought about walking over and telling him to get lost but decided against it. I didn't want to make her mad again.  
I walked over to a scroll rack. One of them, the thinnest, had the water symbol on its end. Curious, I opened it and saw the instructions on how to perform various waterbending moves. My eyes lit up and I drew an intake of breath, excited.  
I turned slightly to Odette who was standing behind me. "Look at this, Odette! It's a waterbending scroll. Check out these crazy moves!"  
Odette came over and peered at it before turning back to the Captain. "Where did you get a waterbending scroll?"  
I was so busy reading the scroll, I didn't notice the Captain stomping over. The Captain's hand suddenly slammed down upon it. He stood between Odette and I, rolling up the scroll and smiling.  
"Let's just say I got it up north at a most reasonable price. Free!" he said nastily.  
The Captain replaced the scroll in the rack as I eyed it hungrily.  
I looked over and saw Alana looking at some merchandise. She turned around, puzzling something out.  
"Waaait a minute...sea-loving traders...with suspiciously acquired merchandise...and pet reptile birds...You guys are pirates!" she gasped.  
I sighed and shook my head. Had it really taken her this long to figure that out?  
The Pirate Barker from before put his arm around Alana's shoulders and smiled. "We prefer to think of ourselves as high risk traders."  
I looked at the two measly copper pieces in my hand. I turned to the Captain.  
"So, how much for the, uh, "traded" scroll?" I asked him.  
"I've already got a buyer, a nobleman in the Earth Kingdom. Unless, of course, you kids have two-hundred gold pieces on ya right now?" he asked coldly.  
Odette and I withdrew slightly to speak in private. She put her hands out, asking for the coins.  
"I know how to deal with these guys, Kole, pirates love to haggle." I shrugged and gave her the two copper pieces.  
"Watch and learn," she said with a wink and walked over to the Captain. "What say to the price of...one copper piece?"  
Odette held the copper piece up to the Captain, a wide grin on her face.  
"Hahaha! The price is two-hundred gold pieces. I don't haggle on items this rare," the Captain said harshly.  
"Okay – two copper pieces!" she said stubbornly.  
"It's not as amusing the second time, girl," he replied, annoyed.  
Okay, this obviously was not working. I glanced around to make sure no one was watching me. I backed up and smoothly grabbed the waterbending scroll and slipped it underneath my clothes without attracting any attention. I walked up to Odette as calmly as possible.  
"Odette, can we get out of here, I feel like we're getting weird looks," I said, glancing around uneasily.  
Odette nodded and turned back to the Captain. "Aye, we be castin' off now!"  
Odette grabbed her staff and followed me out, Alana right behind her.  
"What was that all about, Kole," Odette asked me once we were a good distance away.  
"Yeh, I was just starting to browse through their boomerang collection," Alana pouted.  
I hugged the hidden scroll protectively. "I'll just feel a lot better once we get away from here."  
"Hey you, get back here!" someone yelled. I froze as we all turned around.  
The pirate who solicited us originally ran across the deck, shouting.  
Odette grinned smugly. "Well, well, look who's come to their senses. Told ya the haggling would pay off."  
Like angry bees from a beehive the pirates were exiting their ship to come after Odette, Alana, and I. Suddenly, we were faced with a dozen or so well armed and obviously angry pirates.  
I was terrified.  
I glanced over at Odette who was equally as terrified, immediately regretting taking the scroll.  
The pirates crowded around us, yelling things like, "There they are!", "Get'em!" and "Nobody's goin' nowhere!"  
"I...I don't think these pirates are here to trade with us!" I said shakily.  
Odette kicked one of them in the shin and we took off, running as fast as we could.  
"Get back here!" they yelled as they chased after us.  
We ran down an alley and the pirates split into two groups. One followed us while the other, led by the pirate salesmen, went in another direction.  
We approached the corner of a building, pirates in pursuit. As she rounded the corner Alana skidded and yelled "whoa!", but we kept going.  
As I passed the corner, I waterbent some water from a nearby stall onto the ground and froze it. The lead pirate slipped and hit the ground as Alana and Odette caught up to me.  
Just as everyone cleared the corner, I blinked in surprise when I recognized the same cabbage dealer from Naliwen. He was nuzzling a cabbage happily.  
Weird, I thought to myself.  
He put the cabbage in his portable stand, which was full of cabbages and began to wheel it away. As he did, Alana and I ran by, bumping the cart and knocking off cabbages. The shopkeeper saved the vegetables from hitting the ground, but then Odette launched herself between the cart's canopy and the cabbages and emerged out the other side.  
As she did, she turned and airbent the cart up the street to strike the pursuing pirates. The cart disappeared in a cloud of dust as did the pirates.  
She turned and ran after us smugly, leaving the merchant sad and irate.  
We started running down another alley, but when we turned the next corner we were met by the pirate salesmen and his men. We ran back the way we came, the pirates again in pursuit.  
"I hope that wolf of yours has nine lives!" one pirate sneered.  
We turned into a blind alley. Huffing and out of breath, we turned around to face our pursuers. The Pirate Barker and his mates now blocked the entrance.  
"Now, who gets to take the steel of my blade first?" the Barker said nastily, dual wielding a pair of long knives.  
"No thanks!" Odette said perkily. She scooped up Fang and threw him at me. I caught him and held him in confusion.  
"Don't let him go," she said to me before airbending a huge gust of wind at the pirates, who were blinded with dust and disoriented. Odette began to rush forward while opening her glider. Catching on quickly, Alana and I ran along behind and then latched onto to Odette's legs.  
"Hold on tight!" she called to us.  
I adjusted Fang under one arm. "Odette, I thought we were running away from the pirates!"  
"Just hang on!" she snapped, grunting with the effort of keeping us all up.  
We had trouble gaining altitude at first, in fact we bounced off the heads of many of the pirates they we were trying to escape. We eventually got airborne, however, and looked back to see the pirates and the port receding behind us.  
Eventually, we made it back to Emrys and then the waterfall. We all stood once again on the river bank, tired now. My closed her glider, rotating her shoulders as she flopped down on the grass.  
"I used to kind of look up to pirates, but those guys are terrible," she said.  
I stood straight and smiled. "I know, that's why I took – this!"  
Her eyes fixed in surprise on the waterbending scroll in my outstretched hand. Odette got up, an unhappy look on her face.  
"No way," she said in disbelief.  
"Isn't it great?" I asked her enthusiastically.  
Alana came over, irritated. "No wonder they were trying to hack us up. You stole their waterbending scroll."  
"I prefer to think of it as "high-risk trading.'" I replied, self-satisfied.  
"Haha! Good one, Kole," Odette laughed, smiling.  
I rolled my eyes at Alana's angry expression. "Alana, where do you think they got it? They stole it from a waterbender."  
She shook her head. "It doesn't matter. You put all of our lives in danger just so you could learn some stupid, fancy splashes!"  
"These are real waterbending forms. You know how crucial it is for Odette to learn waterbending," I snapped back, starting to lose my patience.  
Alana turned and walked away, muttering, "Whatever."  
Odette rubbed her forehead. "Well, what's done is done. We have it. We might as well learn from it."  
I smiled at her, completely agreeing.

Ren:

After we docked the ship at a little port village, Uncle and I started to walk through the market area. My arms were folded across my chest and I stared into the crowd, unhappy that I had to waste more time so my uncle could find a stupid tile for his equally stupid game.  
After wandering around for a few hours, Uncle finally sighed. "I've checked all the shops on this pier. Not a lotus tile in the entire marketplace."  
I turned to him. "It's good to know this trip was a complete waste of time for everyone!" I shouted at him furiously.  
Uncle shook his head happily. "Quite the contrary. I always say the only thing better than finding something you were looking for, is finding something you weren't looking for at a great bargain!"  
In the middle of his saying, a parade of Fire Nation soldiers walked by, carrying armloads of merchandise that Uncle had just bought. One of them was some kinds of brass musical instrument.  
"You bought a sumki horn?" I asked, recognizing it.  
"For music night on the ship. Now, if we only had some woodwinds," he said longingly.  
As we began walking down the dock, he stopped to look up at a pirate ship.  
"This place looks promising!" Uncle said excitedly and hurried inside.  
I groaned and followed him. I stood in the middle of the shop, annoyed as he examined an ugly red jeweled monkey.  
"Ooo! That is handsome! Wouldn't it look magnificent in the galley?" he asked me.  
I ignored him and instead focused my attention on the conversation going on off to my right. Meanwhile, Uncle picked up the jeweled monkey with a huge grin on his face.  
I watched the man who I assumed to be the Captain out of the corner of my eye. He was speaking with one of his Barkers.  
"We lost the Water Tribe boy and the little monk girl he was traveling with," the Barker said angrily as my Uncle started to make monkey noises behind me.  
I started and turned and walked over, glaring at the man coldly.  
"This girl, did she have an arrow on her head?"

Kole:

Almost as soon as we returned to the waterfall, I opened the scroll.  
"I just want to try this one move first and then it's all yours," I said to Odette.  
We were standing by the river, with Odette now holding open the scroll for me. I leaned backward, assuming the waterbending stance prescribed in the scroll.  
"The single water whip"…looks doable," I said.  
I raised a stream of water and whipped it around, but it hit me in the forehead, leaving a burning sensation. Alana was sitting cross legged on a rock, laughing her head off.  
I turned angrily on her. "What's so funny?"  
"I'm sorry, but you deserve that," she said, wiping the tears from her eyes. Alana turned to Odette who stood on her left. "You've been duped. He's only interested in teaching himself."  
"Odette will get her turn once I figure out the water whip!" I said, a little guilty.  
I tried again, but the whip behaved erratically and unintentionally zapped Fang, who screamed at me in protest.  
"Why can't I get this stupid move!" I snapped angrily.  
Odette came over, walking to the edge of the river. "You'll get it," she said confidently.  
I glared at her, displeased at this pronouncement, expecting her to show me up once again.  
She did.  
I watched irritably as Odette made the water whip correctly on the first try.  
"You just gotta shift your weight through the stances…" she said happily. She gracefully manipulated the whip for a few seconds and then dropped it back into the river. "There. See, the key to bending is…"  
I snapped. Angrily, I shook my fists in front of me. "Will you PLEASE shut your air hole! Believe it or not, your infinite wisdom gets a little old sometimes. Why don't we just throw the scroll away since you're so naturally gifted!"  
I looked over at Alana, who is not impressed. She glared at me angrily, shaking her head in disapproval.  
"What?" I snarled at her. I looked at Odette, who was frightened and looked on the verge of tears. My heart dropped to the bottom of my feet and I mentally kicked myself.  
How could I have yelled at her like that? It wasn't her fault that she was better at this than I was. She was the Avatar; she was supposed to be better than me for crying out loud! She didn't deserve to be treated like she was a nuisance.  
"Oh my gosh, Odette, I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me. But, you know what, it won't happen again," I said, my guilt beating at me. I rolled up the scroll and handed it to Odette. "Here, this is yours. I don't want to have anything to do with it anymore."  
That wasn't exactly true, but I also didn't want to get mad at Odette again.  
She smiled slightly. "It's okay, Kole."  
Alana, still sitting on the rock, spoke up.  
"What about Fang? He's the real victim here," she said, pointing to the little wolf as he licked his sore behind where the whip had struck him.  
I walked over and started stroking his ears as he yipped. "I'm sorry Fang."  
Alana, clearly milking the situation, said, "And...what about me? There was that time you –"  
"No more apologies!" I snapped, angry again.

Ren:

The prows of my ship opened and deployed a small cutter craft that steamed away. We sailed on the river, looking for any sign of the Avatar or her friends. The cutter craft and the pirate ship were moving up the river in parallel. The Captain and I stood on the deck of my ship. With the annoying green parrot still on his shoulder, we were deep in conversation.  
"Shouldn't we stop to search the woods?" the Captain asked, confused.  
"We don't need to stop. They stole a waterbending scroll, right?" I said, rolling my eyes at his obvious lack of intelligence.  
He nodded. "Uh huh."  
"Then they'll be on the water," I said, scanning the shoreline.

Kole:

Night came quickly and we set up a fire before settling down for the night.  
After a few hours, the girls were finally asleep, but I was awake. I tossed and turned for another hour or so before I finally gave in to what I really wanted. I got up and silently removed the scroll from Odette's bag, dying to use it again.  
I backed guiltily away from the camp, knowing what I was doing was probably a mistake. I turned around only to be confronted by Fang's luminescent green eyes. He was sitting on some sort of tree trunk as he growled lightly at me.  
"Shhh! Fang, go back to sleep," I whispered at him.  
I walked by and he growled again, but I "shh'ed" him once more. I stood down by the river, a good distance away from camp so no one would hear me. I was practicing, but failing to produce, the water whip.  
"Shoot! Come on water, work with me here!" I said, frustrated.  
I lifted a globe of water out of the river and tried to manipulate it, each of my mistakes being punctuated by a verbal exclamation of "okay", "stupid!" or something else. I started wielding my fifth stream of water.  
"Okay, Kole, shift your weight through the stances…" The stream collapsed "...ugh!"  
Suddenly I heard the noise of grinding metal. I ran over to a row of bushes on my left and parted them to reveal Ren's cutter craft beached on the river bank. I turned to run, trying to get to Odette and Alana as quickly as possible, but there stood a pirate, who grabbed me.  
"No, let go of me!" I yelled.  
I bent a water whip around and smacked the pirate in the face. He let me go, but I ran right into Ren, who swung out his fist and punched me right in the jaw, sending me sprawling as pain exploded through my face. Jeeze he was stronger than I thought.  
"I'll save you from the pirates," he said coldly, lifting me up slightly but my shirt colar as he kneeled over me triumphantly. I blinked in surprise and fear for a moment before I fixed a furious glare on my face.  
He laughed and turned to his men.  
"Tie him up," he ordered. He let me go and I tried to make a break for it but was suddenly dragged back by the pirates we had run into earlier.  
I was bound to a small tree, my hands behind the trunk, surrounded by the pirates and Ren's soldiers.  
Ren stood facing me, a smug smile on his face.  
"Tell me where she is and I won't hurt you or your sister," he said confidently.  
"Go jump in the river!" I hissed. He wasn't going to get either one of them.  
"Try to understand, I need to capture to restore something I've lost. My honor. Perhaps in exchange I can restore something you've lost," he said, trying to be reasonable. He walked around to the back of the trunk so he was standing behind me.  
Suddenly, my mother's necklace appeared at my neck, Ren holding it in place. I blinked in shock as Ren walked away with the necklace. I tried to break free from my binds, hating him touching it.  
"My mother's necklace! How did you get that?" I growled.  
He snorted in irritation. "I didn't steal it, if that's what you're wondering. Tell me where she is," he snapped back.  
Even though I really wanted my necklace back, I couldn't risk giving up Odette. "No!"  
The Captain walked forward now, fed up. "Enough of this necklace garbage. You promised the scroll!"  
Ren produced the scroll and made fire in his hand beneath it. "I wonder how much money this is worth?"  
The pirates gasped and some cried, "no!"  
He smirked. "A lot, Emrysrently. Now you help me find what I want, you'll get this back and everyone goes home happy. Search the woods for the girl and meet back here."  
"Fine," the Captain grumbled, sullen.

Odette:

I woke up at dawn to the sound of Alana's irritated voice.  
"Huh? Where did he go?"  
I rolled over to see Alana searching my bag.  
"I don't believe it," she snapped.  
I yawned and rubbed my eyes. "What's wrong?"  
She looked up at me. "He took the scroll! He's obsessed with that thing. It's just a matter of time before he gets us all in deep –"  
She was cut off when her hands got wrapped in a sling thrown from somewhere in the nearby trees. She was pulled right off her sleeping bag screaming. She landed on the ground and was faced by a pirate who threw another sling at her.  
I jumped out of my bag as she rolled out of the way, picked up her spear and charged the intruder. I turned to see a huge beefy pirate hefting two crossbows with a net tied between them. He aimed and fired right at me.  
I fired an air ball at the approaching net, but the air passed right through it. The net rolled me up into a nice neat bundle and I was thrown backwards onto the ground, where another pirate began dragging me away. Thankfully, they instantly left Alana alone, who got up, her pride hurt.  
"I got her, come on!" one of the pirates called out as I was dragged off.  
"Oh, what? I'm not good enough to kidnap?" Alana snapped, irritated. I rubbed my temple in annoyance.  
She was answered by another net which scooped her up. She screamed as they drug her with them.  
When we were finally let out of our nets, we stood, a pirate holding an arm on each side of us. I was surprised to see the pirate ship beached on the river bank and the pirates we had encountered earlier. I was even more surprised to see Ren and his men lined up, facing the pirates who had also formed a line. Kole was bound to a tree and next to him stood Ira, the kind old man who I had discovered was Ren's uncle.  
Ren held the waterbending scroll in his hand.  
"Nice work," he said approvingly, his golden eyes trained on me. I glared at him.  
Kole called to me, guilt saturating his voice as he looked at me sadly. "Odette, this is all my fault."  
"No, Kole it isn't," I said, trying to make him feel a little better.  
"Yeh, it kind of is," Ira said, not rudely, just stating a fact.  
"Give me the girl," Ren said, taking a threatening step in the pirate's direction.  
"You give us the scroll," the Captain shot back.  
"You're really gonna hand over the Avatar for a stupid piece of parchment!?" Alana spoke up suddenly, sounding flabbergasted. We all looked over at her in confusion.  
Ren pointed accusingly at her. "Don't listen to her! She's trying to turn us against each other."  
The Captain looked at me with greedy eyes. "Your friend is the Avatar?"  
Alana suddenly appeared at the Captain's side. "Sure is, and I'll bet she'll fetch a lot more on the black market then that fancy scroll."  
"Shut your mouth, you water tribe peasant!" Ren barked at her furiously. I kinda had to agree with him.  
"Yeh, Alana, you really should shut your mouth…" I said, concerned. What was she doing? Did she think I had caused enough trouble for her and her brother? Was she going to give me up to the Fire Nation so they would leave the siblings alone?  
Alana looked sweetly at the obviously very interested pirates. "I'm just sayin', it's bad business sense. Just imagine how much the Fire Lord would pay for the Avatar. You guys would be set for life!"  
I glanced nervously between the two opposing groups. The Captain pointed to Ren.  
"Keep the scroll! We can buy a hundred with the reward we will get for the kid," he said.  
The pirates began to walk away with the Alana and I. I glanced behind me to see Ren's face was seething.  
"You'll regret breaking a deal with me!" he yelled. He and the guards on either side of him unleashed a torrent of flame, which bathed the ground underneath the pirates who jumped out the way. A fight broke out.  
The pirate salesmen jumped into the midst of the firebenders with a cry. Ren and his men bore down on Alana and I, who were still bound. As they neared, four pirates jumped in front of us to defend their captives. They dropped smoke bombs and the battlefield instantly became a foggy mess. The remaining Fire Nation soldiers approached the edge of the crowd and are instantly pulled in by the arms of pirates emerging from the smoke.  
I ran through the smoke, coughing, my hands still bound. Near misses with a throwing star and a spear cut my bonds.  
I glanced around and, after a little bit of peering, I could see the exterior of the smoke cloud where Ren suddenly emerged. He put the waterbending scroll through his waistband on his back and turned around to just avoid a sword stroke. He assumed a firebending stance, the Captain pointing a sword at him. They struggled, but no one gained advantage.  
Suddenly, a sling removed the scroll from Ren's waistband. Fang intercepted the sling as it returned to the pirate and took the scroll, running. Fang in turn was pursued by the Captain's green parrot, which tackled him from the air. The wolf dropped the scroll and it rolled back into the smoke filled battlefield. Jets of flame erupted from it at various points and the sounds of steel on steel sounded all around me.  
Suddenly, I heard Alana calling out.  
"Odette, are you there?" she yelled over the noise.  
I airbent myself up and over the smoke cloud, then dropped back down.  
"I'm over here, follow my voice!" I called back.  
"Where? I can't find you!" she said, panicked.  
"I'm right here!" I said, annoyed.  
I assumed an airbending stance and blew away the smoke from the immediate area to reveal a mix of Fire Nation soldiers and pirates in combat. They froze and looked at me. I quickly closed the smoke back up around us and the sounds of fighting sounded once more.  
"Uhh, never mind! I'll find you!" I said to her.  
I spotted her crawling out of the smoke and getting up. As she did, I jumped out of the smoke over Alana's head.  
"Run!" I called to her.  
We ran towards the pirate ship, which Kole was trying to push off the beach.  
"Kole! You're okay!" I said, relieved. I hadn't seen him since the fighting had started.  
"Help me get this boat back in the water so we can get out of here!" he said.  
We all began to push on the boat, but nothing happened. We stopped and looked up at the prow.  
"We need a team of rhinos to budge this ship," Alana groaned.  
I thought for a moment before turning to Kole. "A team of rhinos...or two waterbenders?"  
Kole looked at me and smiled gratefully. Together, Kole and I pulled the river back and forth up the beach, slowly raising the water level around the prow. The ship eventually began to float.  
"Everybody in!" Kole said as we all ran up onto the deck.

Ren:

The Captain and I were still dueling when my uncle came and suddenly broke it up.  
"Are you so busy fighting you cannot see your own ship has set sail?" he asked, annoyed.  
"We have no time for your proverbs, Uncle!" I snapped, glaring at the Captain. I was still furious that this man had tried to take the girl from me. I had lost her too many times already.  
"It's no proverb," Uncle said, pointing to the river.  
I looked at the river and saw the pirate ship sailing downriver, much to my delight. Served the low life's right.  
"Bleeding hog-monkeys!" the Captain cried out as he ran off.  
"Haha!" I laughed enthusiastically, something I hadn't done in a long time. In this one moment, I was actually grateful to the girl.  
I stopped though when I saw my ship following the other ship which was a good distance down he river now. It was loaded with pirates, one of whom moved to moon Uncle and I.  
My gratitude toward the girl disintegrated in an instant.  
"Hey! That's my boat!" I snapped, taking off down the river to catch it.  
Uncle scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe it should be a proverb," he said.  
"Come on, Uncle!" I snapped, trying to keep up with my boat along the riverbank.

Odette:

I looked astern at the pirates as they closed in on Ren's stolen ship. I turned to yell forward to Alana who was at the wheel.  
"Alana! Can't you make it go any faster?" I asked.  
She shook her head, unsure. "I don't know how. This thing wasn't made by the water tribe."  
When I turned back again, the pirates were passing us. When they drew parallel, pirates began jumping onto our ship.  
I looked to the aft deck, where Kole faced two pirates as they advanced on him. As he backed up, I waterbent a huge wave onto the deck that washed one of the pirates overboard.  
Kole, afraid at first, then gaining confidence and determination, created a water whip and smacked the other one overboard. Kole beamed up at me.  
"Hey, you did the water whip!" I congratulated from where I still stood onto of the cabin.  
"I couldn't have done it without your help!" he replied.  
Alana was on the bridge with a beefy pirate and the pirate salesmen on her.  
"Will you two quit congratulating each other and help me out!" she snapped us, irritated.  
Fang suddenly ran across the deck, closely pursued by the Captain's parrot. The pursuit ended when Fang trapped the parrot by wrapping him in the pirate vessel's black flag.  
I turned my attention back to Alana, who was being held aloft by the beefy pirate. Alana screamed as the pirate threw her into the sail in front of him. She fell with a thud to the deck below.  
"That's good!" the Barker approved.  
I suddenly dropped down next to the pirates from the left and threw the pirate Salesmen through the guard rail and overboard with a huge blast of air. I then twirled the beefy pirate around on a whirlwind of air for a few minutes before ejecting him high into the air. He came back down on the other side of the ship, landing with a splash in the river. I jumped down to Alana, who was rubbing her head where it'd hit the deck.  
Kole pointed forward worriedly. "Odette, look!"  
The sound of falling water could be heard as he spoke. I looked up to see that we were rapidly approaching a large waterfall.  
"Oh, no!"  
I looked back behind me and jumped in surprise when I saw the pirate Barker standing right behind me, his blade drawn.  
I turned to face him and drew my dragon whistle in response. I blew the whistle furiously, hoping it would work. When nothing happened, I glanced at an unimpressed Barker nervously, who was promptly round-kicked overboard by Alana who has just appeared from the right side of the deck.  
Alana tapped the side of her head. "Have you lost your mind!? This is no time for flute practice!"  
I ignored her and ran to where Kole was looking over the starboard railing at the rapidly approaching waterfall. The prow was almost at the lip of the fall.  
"We can stop the boat! Together, push and pull the water!" he said quickly.  
Kole and I turned to quickly stand on the foredeck, waterbending in unison, making pushing and pulling motions. The boat started turning around right at the lip of the fall.  
"It's working! It's slowing down!" Kole said excitedly.  
The ship was now at a ninety degree angle near the lip of the fall and motionless. As we continued bending, I looked beyond Alana and saw the smokestack of the cutter growing larger.  
"We're doing it!" Kole cheered.  
Alana pointed to the cutter, noticing it as well. "But we have another problem!"  
The cutter was now bearing down on the pirate ship. The cutter rammed into the pirate ship, amidships.  
"Whoa!" I cried out at the impact, slamming into a rail. The cutter's impact lifted the starboard side of the pirate ship out of the water and, consequently, made the ship list badly to port. The list rapidly became so bad that we all fell off the ship and over the falls, ship falling behind us. As we fell, I glanced around nervously when out of nowhere, Emrys swooped in and we landed on her back. She flew away just in time to avoid the falling pirate ship.  
Leaning over the side of Emrys's saddle, we all watched the pirate ship as it disintegrated when it hit the bottom in a cloud of water and debris. As we flew away from the waterfall, I leaned back and looked at the dragon whistle. It had worked.  
I looked up at the others smugly. "I knew a dragon whistle would come in handy. Thanks, Emrys."  
"Yeh, we owe ya one," Alana said, petting Fang as he lounged on her lap. As Emrys grunted in response.

Ren:

I ran up to the river bank near the waterfall, Uncle huffing and puffing behind me.  
"My boat!" I gasped as I watched it fall.  
I couldn't believe it! Not only had I lost the girl again, I had now lost one of my boats as well. This day was turning out to be just fantastic.  
Uncle finally regained his breath. "Hehe, Prince Ren, you're really going to get a kick out of this. The missing lotus tile was in my sleeve the whole time!"  
He produced the missing lotus tile with a huge smile on his face. I really didn't find it all that amusing.  
While he was still holding out the piece, I was trying to control my breathing and my temper. Without having any other way to channel my rage, the tile disappeared fast as lightning when I snatched it from his hand. I threw it as far as I could, glaring at the pirates that were floating downstream. The piece landed on the Barker's head, much to my satisfaction.

Kole:

As Emrys lazily flew through the clouds, I decided that now would be a good time to apologize for my behavior.  
"Odette, I still owe you an apology," I said, not really looking at anything. "You were just so good at waterbending without really trying. I got so competitive that I put us all in danger. I'm sorry."  
She nodded and gave me a comforting smile. "That's okay, Kole."  
I nudged her with my elbow. "Besides, who needs that stupid scroll anyway."  
"Is that really how you feel?" Alana asked and we looked over to see her holding the scroll in her hands.  
"The scroll!" I gasped happily. I reached for it, but she pulled it away and pointed the heisman at me with her other hand.  
"First, what did you learn?" she said seriously.  
I rolled my eyes. "Stealing is wrong."  
I took the scroll and grinned wickedly. "Unless it's from pirates!"  
Odette burst out laughing at Alana's face. "Haha! Good one, Kole."


	11. Chapter 10: Detra

Odette:

Three days after our encounter with the pirates, we decided to take a break from traveling in a beautiful forest. A pale blue sky stretched above us, the vast deciduous trees going on for miles. The trees were blanketed in leaves of fiery reds and oranges; there was just a hint of green left on one or two. The air was alive with the chirps and whirrs of insects.  
We stood in a small clearing, lounging around and checking supplies. After a while though, I began to notice we were missing one of our members.  
"Where's Fang?" I asked, turning to the others.  
Just then, Fang's yowl echoed through the forest.  
I jumped to my feet, looking around frantically. From where they sat on the ground, Alana and Kole also looked around, trying to tell where the call came from.  
I followed the noises, walking deeper into the trees for a good five minutes before I finally found him. I wandered into a small clearing with snares set up everywhere. I looked up and saw Fang swinging in a snare about fifty feet above the ground.  
With a sweep of my arms, I airbent to leap, climbing to Fang's height by rebounding up off close-by tree trunks.  
"Hang on Fang!" I called.  
I examined the tree branch for a moment, trying to figure it out. It extended out of a main part of the tree. Attached to the trunk was a small winch. A rope entered the winch from lower on the trunk, and then continued up to an eyeloop bolt attached to the underside of the branch, before hanging straight down.  
I ascended quickly, landing on the branch. I sat, then flipped over the branch and dangled beneath it, grabbing the rope. I released a latch on the winch and carefully fed more line.  
On the ground, Alana and Kole eased the snare down between them and together pulled the squeaky slats apart enough to make an exit. Fang immediately hopped out and ran out a little ways to finish a mouth full of nuts, his peril forgotten.  
Alana and Kole released the snare, and Alana groaned and slapped her forehead at the lack of gratitude. I jumped down from above and looked up, the others following my gaze.  
There were still two more snares. The hog monkeys in them moan pleadingly. The traps were suspended near each other on a different branch.  
"All right—you too," I said. I crouched, then sprung up in a spiraling column of airbent wind that carried me up to the branch. Alana reached behind her.  
"This is gonna take forever," she said impatiently.  
She threw her boomerang in one fluid move; it zipped up into the air.  
Just below the branch, the ropes came from opposite directions, but they parallel each other as they hung down from curved staples. With a whiz, the boomerang flew right underneath me, cutting the both ropes in the process. The ropes fell away and there was a sound of crashes and the panicked beast barks.  
I was hanging below the branch and hugging it as I inched over to the first staple. I paused to look upside-down at the ground below in annoyance.  
"That works…" I said, and came back down.  
On the ground, the hog monkeys were loose; their cages like open clamshells. They walked away on all fours, one disappearing between the trees while the other climbed up a tree to the left and disappeared. Alana approached one of the busted snares and knelt to examine it.  
"These are Fire Nation traps—you can tell from the metalwork. We'd better pack up camp, and get moving," she said.  
Alana's hands pulled taught the bindings on a roll of gear.  
We quickly returned to the clearing where Emrys was waiting lazily. We packed up all of our things and began loading everything. Kole handed a gear roll up to me while I was sitting on Emrys's head. Alana saw this and she left her roll and walked over to us.  
"Ah-ah...no flying this time," she said harshly.  
Kole turned to her, confused. "What?"  
I handed the roll to Alana and she put it on the ground.  
"Why wouldn't we fly?" I asked her, just as lost.  
Alana looked at us like we'd lost it. "Think about it. Somehow Prince Ren and the Fire Nation keep finding us. It's because they spot Emrys—she's just too noticeable."  
"What! Emrys's not too noticeable!" Kole said.  
Alana turned to him, exasperated. "She's a gigantic fire breathing monster—it's kinda hard to miss her!"  
Emrys turned her head and snarled at her, flapping her massive wings in annoyance. I was sitting in my usual 'driver's seat' holding her reigns.  
"Alana's just jealous because she can't breathe fire," I said to her gently, patting the side of her snowy white head.  
"I know you all want to fly, but my instincts tell me we should play it safe this time and walk," Alana said to me.  
"Who made you the boss?" Kole asked, annoyed.  
I got board with their bickering so I decided to just kill time and lean upside down on Emrys.  
"I'm not the boss—I'm the leader," she said defensively.  
"You're the leader? But your voice still cracks!" he said, incredulous.  
"I'm the oldest and I'm a warrior," she said, outraged. She tried to speak deeper. "So...I'm the leader!"  
Kole shook his head. "If anyone's the leader, it's Odette. I mean, she is the Avatar."  
"Are you kidding—she's just a goofy kid!" she said, looking at him in disbelief.  
They glanced at me as I was dangling from Emrys's snout: upside-down by my hands with my legs sticking out into space. Emrys looked rather unimpressed.  
I laughed and nodded. "She's right."  
Alana shook her head and put her pack on her back.  
"Why do you always think someone has to be the leader? I bet you wouldn't be so bossy if you kissed a boy," Kole mocked.  
Alana flushed, outraged. "I-I've kissed a boy—you...just haven't met him."  
Kole snorted. "Who? Gran-Dad? I've met Gran-Dad."  
"No—besides Gran-Dad. Look, my instincts tell me we have a better chance of slipping through on foot and a leader has to trust her instincts," she said.  
"Okay, we'll try it your way Oh Wise Leader," Kole said, fighting a laugh.  
I stepped over, now wearing a backpack. Fang was sitting inside it, his head poking out the top.  
"Who knows—walking might be fun," I said optimistically.

Kole:

After about four hours of trudging along through the trees, I was a little irritated with Alana. She stood in the front, taking the position of the leader, followed by Odette, Fang, Emrys, and I.  
Odette groaned, her slender shoulders hunched in obvious discomfort. "Walking stinks! How do people go anywhere without a dragon?"  
"I don't know Odette. Why don't you ask Alana's instincts—they seem to know everything," I said cheekily. I had been looking for any chance I got to make fun of my sister ever since we had left camp.  
Alana rolled her eyes. "Ha ha. Very funny."  
"I'm tired of carrying this pack," Odette groaned.  
"You know who you should ask to carry it for a while? Alana's Instincts!"  
Odette brightened. "That's a great idea! Hey, Alana's Instincts, would you mind—"  
Alana finally got irritated. As she spoke, she pushed the branches from two rust red-leafed bushes and held them, focusing her attention on Odette and I. "Okay, okay—I get it. Look guys, I'm tired too. But the important thing is that we're safe from...the—" She finally turned around to see what was beyond the bushes. "-Fire...Nation…"  
Alana, Odette, Fang, and I had just walked into a clearing with a Fire Nation encampment in it. On the opposite end of the clearing there were three Pavilion tents, and an active fire pit with logs as benches on two sides. The camp was fully occupied.  
Most of the soldiers were seated or crouching near the fire with bowls in hand. We all looked at each other in surprise. I looked over at a couple of soldiers seated closest to the tents, which have door flaps with the Fire Nation emblem on them. One of these soldiers had a patch over his left eye.  
"RUN!" Alana suddenly burst.  
As we dropped our packs, the soldiers leaped up from the logs, swords out. The one-eyed soldier took a bender's stance and launched a fist-full of fire at us. The fire missed—mostly—but set the bushes behind us alight.  
"We're cut off!" Alana gasped. Meanwhile, the left sleeve of her tunic was on fire.  
"Alana, your shirt!" Odette said, pointing at the sleeve.  
Alana looked, and yelled in panic.  
I uncorked a skin container and began to bend the contents—water—into a flowing ribbon. The ribbon splashed against Alana's tunic, putting it out. I redirected the ribbon back into the water skin and replaced the cap.  
We were surrounded: the burning bushes behind us, the soldiers all around. We put our backs together and faced the warriors, ready to fight if necessary.  
Alana glared threateningly at them. "If you let us pass, we promise not to hurt you."  
"What are you doing?" I asked her quietly.  
She looked back at me uncertainly. "Bluffing?"  
The One-eyed Captain smiled from his lines.  
"You? Promise not to hurt us?" he asked, incredulous.  
There was a quiet zip and thud suddenly. The Captain looked surprised for a moment, then groaned and collapsed face first on the ground. His men lowered their weapons a little.  
Odette smiled, impressed. "Nice work, Alana! How'd ya do that?"  
Alana stared at the Captain, dumbfounded. "Uh...instinct?"  
Suddenly, I spotted a movement up in the trees.  
"Look!" I said and pointed. We all looked at a figure standing on the massive branch of a nearby tree. The person dropped something and drew two blades from the middle of her back. She stepped off the back of the branch, her weapons held high. Instead of falling straight down, the weapons seemed to catch on the branch, allowing her to sling herself in the direction of the camp. The stranger kicked over two of the soldiers farthest from us; she lands with a foot on each of their backs.  
Now that she was closer, I could see she was a young woman—about Alana's age. Except for a red vest, she was dressed from neck to toe in dark green clothing. What little armor she had - shoulder caps and hip and upper thigh covers - were mismatched. She had a long wild mane of dark red hair, emerald green eyes, and pale skin. She held a twig in her teeth.  
She rushed forward, her shuang gou I think it was called - the twin hooked sword - in each hand. She hooked a leg each on another pair of soldiers and sent them head over heels. With a polished body flip, she launched them through the air. They ended up in a heap on top of their prone captain.  
The girl landed on her feet, ready for more.  
"Down you go," she said in a silky voice.  
We looked up from the little pile-up at her. We had gone from surprise to varying degrees of pleasure for me, awe for Odette, and incredulity, naturally, for Alana.  
A soldier rushed up from behind the girl, sword raised. The young woman hooked her opponent's sword hand as she spun. She finished where she started—ready to face a new opponent—while her other opponent was sent flying. The woman landed at the feet of a quartet of sword holders. The closest men then looked up.  
"They're in the trees!" a soldier gasped.  
A small boy dropped from above and landed on the soldier's shoulders, then spun his helmet around, blinding him. He staggered off, his small attacker still on his shoulders and laughing all the while. Before the remaining three swordsmen can react, arrows zipped from above, disarming each man without hurting him.  
We looked up to see an archer sitting on a branch. He reached for a quiver on his back and fitted two arrows to the string of his bow. The archer swung backward, until he was hanging beneath the branch by his knees. He let his arrows fly.  
We turned our attention back to a different quartet of soldiers. The foremost two have their swords knocked from their hands by the arrows, while an individual leaped from a low branch to the ground.  
We joined the attack as the two disarmed soldiers ran off, a swordsman charging the newcomer. This fighter ducked, let the swordsman run into, and across, his back, and tossed his opponent up onto the branch with a shrug. The second swordsman was more cautious, but with speed and strength the rebel grabbed him, spun him around and threw him. The barehanded rebel turned and headed for new targets before his old one even hit the ground. Meanwhile, a boy with a knife and red face paint dropped to the ground and ran off to fight.  
As Odette and I teamed up, I could feel the woman's gaze as she watched us over her shoulder. I used my water to take on an opponent while beside me, Odette bent the air, dragging two soldiers in a dusty circle around us.  
I looked over at Alana, who had her boomerang raised in both hands, shouting a war cry. A soldier charged her, but before they met, the woman came. She used her swords to pole vault herself into the chest of the swordsman, who went flying in the opposite direction. Alana stopped shouting and sagged out of her battle stance.  
"Hey, he was mine!" Alana said, pouting.  
The woman winked and smiled slightly. "Gotta be quicker next time."  
She turned and rejoined the battle. I was left impressed, while a grumpy Alana walked off.  
I turned to see two soldiers backing towards the forest, but before they could escape, a massive rebel dropped to the ground. As they turned to face him, their faces registered shock as he came out of his drop crouch...and towered above them. Quickly however, they recovered and take a battle stance. The grinning giant simply reached over his shoulder and pulled out a log thicker than a man's leg. He raised it two-handed over his head, and with a growl lowers the boom.  
The woman turned from her current opponent to watch the two swordsmen backing away, their swords bent beyond use. They dropped them and fled. She grinned and turned to face the determined spearman. The man jabbed for her throat, but she caught the spear shaft with the hooks of her swords. They struggled for a moment, before the woman spun and sidestepped the spear.  
With one sword free, she hooked the man, who went flying. The soldier's spear was also sent flying. Its butt-end struck the back of a nearby swordsman's helmet, knocking him out. The sagging soldier revealed his opponent to be Alana, ready to receive an attack with her war club. She looked at the downed man in frustration.  
"Man!" she cried out.  
Another spearman attempted to strike at the woman from behind. Just in time she caught the spear point in the space between the grip and the crescent-shaped guard of her sword and redirected it away from her head. The soldier quickly followed the spear, pushing it free and facing the young woman again with a flourish. She also quickly recovered her stance. She caught the spear tip with her hooks this time and angled the spear into the ground. She ran up it, leaped, kicked off the back of the soldier's helmet and stumbled a few steps forward before stopping in front of me as if she'd meant to do all of it.  
"Hey," she said nonchalantly.  
"Hi," I replied, looking down in awe at her slender face.  
Together we turned to take in the camp, now deserted by all but the newcomers.  
Odette came over, just as awed as I was. "You just took out a whole army almost single-handed!"  
Alana scoffed. "Army? Pfft. There were only, like, twenty guys!"  
The woman turned to Odette and I. "My name is Detra, and these are my Freedom Fighters. Sneers," she said, pointing to the weaponless rebel, who was eating from one of the soldier's bowls.  
"Longshot." The archer; he raised his paddy-hat covered head at his name. "Smellerbee." The rebel with the face paint and knife. His knife between his teeth, a captured Fire Nation Sword slung across his back and he had one in each hand. He brandished them when Detra named him.  
"The Duke and Pipsqueak." They were standing next to each other. The Duke was the littlest rebel, the one who rode the soldier's shoulders. He raised his quarterstaff slightly at his name. Pipsqueak was the giant, who put his log away as his name was called.  
Odette walked up to the Duke and Pipsqueak.  
Odette spoke to the Duke, chuckling. "Pipsqueak—that's a funny name."  
The Duke sniffled, his nose was runny and his helmet hid shed tears. The she looked up at the "real" Pipsqueak, slightly glowering. He bent down and I prepared to rush in and defend her.  
"You think my name is funny?" he said in a deep booming voice.  
Odette looked a little nervous but then she plastered a smile on her face.  
"It's hilarious," she said, giggling.  
I looked back to Pipsqueak, who went from glower to guffaw in a heartbeat. Odette, Pipsqueak and the Duke shared the laugh together. Pipsqueak slapped Odette on the back, which unintentionally knocked the Avatar flat. The Duke stopped laughing, but smiled again when Odette looked up and chuckled weakly.  
After that, the central fire was put out, and members of Detra's freedom fighters gathered near it. Longshot was investigating supply crates while Sneers checked the weapons. Alana watched as Smellerbee passed her with an armful of staves.  
Detra was reclining against the trunk of a tree on the perimeter of the camp. After a moment of hesitation, I approached her nervously.  
"Um...thanks for saving us Detra. We were lucky you were there," I said, smiling.  
She turned to look at me with a sly grin. "I should be thanking you. We were waiting to ambush those soldiers all morning—we just needed the right distraction. And then you guys stumbled in."  
"We were relying on instincts," I said, annoyed.  
"You'll get yourself killed doing that," she replied disapprovingly.  
Alana was close enough to hear the conversation. I watched as she closed her eyes in frustration at her bad call and walked away. Behind her, Pipsqueak and the Duke investigated the inside of a barrel next to one of the pavilion tents. The Duke reached in and pulled away a finger coated with green goo. He sniffed it experimentally.  
"Hey Detra—these barrels are filled with blasting jelly," he called, turning to us.  
"That's a great score," she said in approval.  
Pipsqueak held up a large crate and said, "And these boxes are filled with jelly candy!"  
"Also good. Let's not get those mixed up."  
Odette and Fang watched Pipsqueak, the Duke and Sneers loading up a four-wheeled wagon.  
"We'll take the stuff back to the hideout," Pipsqueak said.  
Odette came over excitedly. "You guys have a hideout?"  
Detra smiled at her. "You wanna see it?"  
I literally slid up to her, excited to see anything about this girl's life. My hands were clasped together, practically begging.  
"Yes we wanna see it!"  
Detra's brow softened, but her self-assured smile never wavered.

Odette:

Everyone was walking along the forest floor. Pipsqueak pulled the laden wagon next to Emrys. The trunks were massive enough to make even Emrys small. In front, Detra had stopped  
"We're here," she said, turning to us.  
Alana spoke up from beside me. "Where...there's nothing here!"  
Detra shook her head. "Hold this."  
Detra handed Alana a rope with a loop on the end. The other end was somewhere above us.  
"Why...what's this do?" Alana asked skeptically, rolling her eyes at me.  
The loop ended up around Alana's wrist. Without warning, she was pulled up by her arm into a nearby tree canopy. As a final insult, she got momentarily stuck in the leafy branches before she disappeared.  
"Whoa!" I heard her cry.  
Detra offered a similar rope to Fang and I.  
"Odette?" she asked me.  
I shook my head. "I'll get up on my own."  
Fang launched himself up onto my shoulder as I leaped up into the air. I ended up on a plank-covered platform high in the canopy. Detra and Kole rose through a hole in the 'floor' then landed on it with a jump when they let go of the still ascending rope. Wooden stairs spiraled up the trunk and a suspension bridge linked their platform to elsewhere. All workmanship is of 'tree house' quality. It was beautiful and amazing.  
"Nice place you got!" I said as I ran around on the platforms. Several nearby trees have the same platforms, stairs and bridges and all had tent-like huts.  
I looked back to see Kole and Detra standing close by each other.  
As they walked towards the bridge, Detra and Kole surveyed the parts of the tree village below them.  
"It's beautiful up here!" he said.  
Detra nodded. "It's beautiful...and more importantly the Fire Nation can't find us."  
Smellerbee released his rope and landed near them.  
"They would love to find you. Wouldn't they, Detra?" he said.  
"It's not gonna happen, Smellerbee," she replied, grinning widely.  
I walked alongside Detra with Kole on the other side. Together, the three of us walked along a bridge.  
"Why does the Fire Nation want to find you?" Kole asked.  
"I guess you could say I've been causing them a little trouble. See, they took over a nearby Earth Kingdom town a few years back."  
We were leading the group, Pipsqueak directly behind us.  
"We've been ambushing' their troops, cutting off their supply lines, and doing anything we can to mess with 'em," he said.  
Alana was doing her best to see over Pipsqueak—she kept hopping up to get a peek over the giant's shoulders.  
"One day, we'll drive the Fire Nation out of here for good and free that town," Detra said fiercely.  
"That's so brave," Kole said in admiration.  
Alana came up from behind, somehow making it past Pipsqueak.  
"Yeah, nothing's braver than a girl in a tree house," she said sarcastically.  
Kole glared at her. "Don't pay any attention to my sister."  
"No problem. She probably had a rough day," Detra replied, understanding.  
"So, you all live here?" he asked her.  
Alana, ignored, sunk back behind Pipsqueak.  
"That's right. Longshot over there?" Detra said, nodding to the archer. He and the Duke were walking silently together. Longshot's head was slightly bowed.  
"His town got burned down by the fire Nation. And we found the Duke trying to steal our food. I don't think he ever really had a home."  
"What about you?" Kole asked after a moment's pause.  
Detra stopped. The group, except for Kole and I moved on.  
"Fire Nation killed my parents. I was only eight years old. That day changed me forever."  
Kole bowed his head slightly. "Alana and I lost our mother to the Fire Nation."  
"I'm so sorry, Kole," she said, turning to look at him. I felt awkward and a little invisible just then. I walked silently away, leaving the two standing alone on the bridge.

* * * *  
Kole:

Later that night, Detra held a feast. We were seated at the head of a long table with no legs and soft pillows for chairs. I sat in between Detra and Odette. Alana sat sulking nearby next to Odette, trying to pull herself into the conversation.  
In the hideout below, ropes with glowing lanterns hung between branches. Sentries kept watch on several upper platforms while we sat at the banquet table on the largest platform.  
Halfway through the meal, when we were eating and drinking, Detra stood and climbed onto the table.  
She raised her glass high into the air, her hair blood red against her pale skin. "Today, we struck another blow against the Fire Nation swine."  
Her followers at the table and on upper platforms cheered. Odette and I watched with smiles while Alana looked grumpy. I hung onto Detra's every word.  
"I got a special joy from the look on one soldier's face, when the Duke dropped down on his helmet and rode him like a wild hog monkey."  
The helmet-less Duke was sitting on the platform between Longshot and Smellerbee. He stood, joined Detra on the table and, amid cheers, took a victory walk around a fish platter.  
When he settled down, Detra continued. "Now, the Fire Nation thinks they don't have to worry about a couple of kids hiding in the trees."  
She prepared to take a drink from her wooden cup.  
"Maybe they're right," she said casually.  
Her followers booed at that.  
"Or maybe...they are dead wrong," Detra said, her voice low and dangerous.  
Her face was bathed in an angry red color from the lanterns. Her followers cheered wildly. She left the table and sat on the platform between Odette and I again.  
I nudged her lightly with my elbow. "Hey Detra, nice speech."  
"Thanks. By the way, I was really impressed with you and Odette. That was some great bending I saw out there today."  
I felt my face redden. "Well, she's great. She's the Avatar. I could use some more training."  
Detra turned to her, impressed. "Avatar huh? Very nice."  
Odette smiled happily. "Thanks Detra."  
"So I might know a way that you and Odette can help in our struggle," Detra said.  
Alana stood. "Unfortunately we have to leave tonight," she said coolly before walking away.  
"Alana, you're kidding me! I needed you on an important mission tomorrow," Detra said pleadingly.  
Alana stopped, and turned.  
"What mission?"

Alana:

Detra and I were perched in the branches of a tree the next morning.  
I didn't know what it was that made me distrust her, but whatever it was I didn't like it. The only reason why I had come with her was to make sure my suspicions were wrong. It was obvious Kole was infatuated with this girl, and I wanted nothing more than to like her. But I couldn't.  
Maybe it was the darkness in her eyes, in her face. Something about her was shady, dark, and secretive. In a lot of ways, she reminded me of a very sly fox.  
Detra cupped her hands and made a whistle like a birdcall; several trees down Pipsqueak and Smellerbee stepped into view from their branches. There was a reply call.  
I rammed my jawbone knife into the trunk of the tree and pressed my ear against it.  
Detra turned to me and narrowed her green eyes like a cat. "What are you doing?"  
"Shhh...it amplifies vibrations," I whispered back to her.  
She smiled, impressed. "Good trick."  
I cupped my hands around the pommel 'bone' and put my ear to it.  
"Nothing yet," I said. A second or two later though, I felt a slight tremor. I lowered my voice. "Wait! Yes, someone's approaching."  
"How many?" she asked her voice just as soft.  
I listened for a few more vibrations. "I think there's just one."  
Detra whistled again. "Good work, Alana. Ready your weapon."  
I pulled the knife out of the tree and waited. My eyes went wide when the 'someone' came into view: a stooped old man with a cane. He wore a simple red robe.  
"Wait! False alarm...he's just an old man," I warned quickly.  
She didn't seem to hear me. She stood and extended her hook swords anyway, then leapt to the ground in front of the traveler. I watched with horror before quickly joining her.  
"What are you doing in our woods, you leech," Detra snarled furiously.  
"Please sir, I'm just a traveler," the man said, scared out of his mind.  
Detra took a threatening step, and with one swipe of her sword sent the man's can flying from his hand. The old man backed away, but when he tried to flee the way he came, he ran face first into Pipsqueak's chest. The force of the impact knocked him to the ground; the giant loomed over him. He tried to crawl away, but Pipsqueak's foot on his backside effectively pinned him. I felt something twist my stomach into a knot.  
Detra glared down at him. "Do you like destroying towns? Do you like destroying families? Do you?!"  
"Oh...please let me go...have mercy…" the old man cried, frightened.  
Detra leaned toward him furiously. "Does the Fire Nation let people go?! Does the Fire Nation have mercy?!"  
She wound up a kick to the man's head. I lunged forward, not able to bear another second of this torture. I had been right all along; Detra was not to be trusted.  
Her foot was snagged by my club before it could be delivered to the old man's face. I released her when she looked back at me furiously.  
"Detra, he's just an old man!" I snapped at her, shocked by her actions.  
Detra narrowed her eyes at me again and flicked her red hair out of her face. "He's Fire Nation! Search him!"  
Pipsqueak held the prisoner and Smellerbee stepped up.  
"But he's not hurting anyone!" I pleaded, staring at the man sadly. Honestly, how could anyone this old be such a threat?  
"Have you forgotten that the Fire Nation killed your mother? Remember why you fight!" she said back.  
Smellerbee turned to Detra. "We've got his stuff, Detra," he said, holding up a shoulder satchel the old man was carrying. The old man was back on the ground, tears streaming down his face.  
I shoved Detra's shoulder, making her turn around to look at me. "This doesn't feel right."  
Detra shoved me back. "It's what has to be done—now let's get outta here."  
She pushed past me roughly. Pipsqueak and Smellerbee followed. I looked at the old man still on his hands and knees. Fighting back my rage at Detra, I leaned down and helped the man to his feet. I patted his shoulder when he was standing and smiled softly.  
"You should go," I told him quietly and he nodded, grateful.  
"Come on Alana!" Detra yelled furiously just then.  
I slowly turned then ran after the others.

Kole:

At the hideout, I watched as Odette and Fang were playing with the zip lines again. Alana was sitting with her back to the trunk and staring at the platform before her, frowning. Odette leaped to a platform beside me, grinning widely.  
"Alana! Look what the Duke gave me!"  
She was wearing a satchel and pulled a small pellet from it. With a sly grin, she tossed it at the platform next to Fang, where it exploded with a pop. Fang puffed up like a startled cat. He growled, and then lunged for the satchel. He ripped it from her back and, using his mouth, began dropping pellets at her feet. Odette danced about wildly.  
"Ow! Quit it!" she snapped at him as she toppled over.  
Alana was oblivious of it all. I walked up concerned.  
"Hey Alana. Is Detra back?" I asked, not only curious about where she was but I was also trying to distract Alana from whatever was bugging her.  
Alana's face darkened. "Yeah—she's back. But we're leaving."  
Odette started. "What?"  
My shoulders sagged in disappointment. "But I made her this hat."  
I pulled from behind my back a cap made out of stitched leaves with a flower on top. The workmanship was admittedly unimpressive.  
"Your girlfriend Detra's a thug," she snapped, turning to me.  
I balked. "What? No, she's not."  
I wasn't even going to try to deny the girlfriend part.  
Alana stood and swiped a hand at me. "She's messed up Kole."  
Odette frowned. "She's not messed up, she's just got a different way of life—a really fun way of life."  
"She beat and robbed a harmless old man!" Alana yelled in frustration.  
I crossed my arms suspiciously. "I wanna hear Detra's side of the story."  
"Fine!" Alana snapped and stormed off to Detra's tent with us following. When we go there, Detra welcomed us warmly and when I asked her if Alana's story was true, she hung her head sadly.  
"Alana—you told them what happened but you didn't mention that the guy was Fire Nation?" she asked in disbelief.  
Detra and the three of us were in a lantern-lit hut: at least one wall was made of wood. Detra was sitting on a hammock-bed, while the rest of us stood. Alana stood grumpily as far away as she could get. Odette was wearing the hat I made; she was looking like an acorn.  
I shot a hard look at my sister. "No, she conveniently left that part out."  
Alana threw her hands up angrily. "Fine! But even if he was Fire Nation, he was a harmless civilian."  
Detra shook her head. "He was an assassin, Alana."  
She pulled out a knife and thrust it into a nearby block of wood. It was a sinister looking curved blade. There were four spikes evenly spaced along the grip, with enough space for fingers to go between them. There was a ring on the butt of the knife.  
"See? There's a compartment for poison in the knife," she said and pulled on the ring, removing a small glass tube filled with red liquid. "He was sent to eliminate me—you helped save my life, Alana."  
I smiled, relieved. "I knew there was an explanation."  
"I didn't see any knife!" Alana objected.  
"That's because he was concealing it," Detra sighed.  
I turned to my sister. "See Alana? I'm sure you just didn't notice the knife."  
She glared fiercely at me, her blue eyes sparkling with agitation.  
"There was no knife! I'm going back to the hut and packing my things," she snapped and stalked out of the hut.  
Detra stood, her green eyes wide with worry. "Tell me you guys aren't leaving yet. I really need your help."  
Odette shrugged. "What can we do?"  
"The Fire Nation is planning on burning down our forest. If you both use water bending to fill the reservoir, we could fight the fires. But if you leave now, they'll destroy the whole valley," Detra said, her voice dark with anger.  
Odette and I looked at each other and nodded in agreement. We agreed to help and left after that.  
As we were walking, Odette had a concerned look on her face.  
I nudged her. "Hey. What's the matter with you?"  
She turned to me. "We should talk to Alana."  
I sighed and nodded. Alana was not going to like the fact that we had decided to stay.  
We entered our hut and found her tying up a roll on the floor.  
After an awkward pause, I decided to just get to the point. "We can't leave now with the Fire Nation about to burn down a forest!"  
"I'm sorry Kole. Detra's very smooth, but we can't trust her," she said back, calm as ever.  
"You know what I think? You're jealous that she's a better warrior and a better leader!" I snapped, irritated now.  
She sighed and turned to me. "Kole, I'm not jealous of Detra. It's just that my instinct—"  
"Well my instincts tell me we need to stay here a little longer and help Detra. Come on Odette," I said and stomped out of the hut.  
Odette turned back before following me through the door.  
"Sorry Alana," she said before I grabbed her arm and made her follow me.

Alana:

I sat seething in the hut until the sun went down and the sky grew dark.  
Kole and Odette didn't believe me, and I wasn't mad at them for that. I was mad at Detra. She had played with their weak spots, convinced them that she was an innocent good doer. But I knew the truth, and I planned on figuring out what they were really up to and then somehow prove everything to my companions.  
I slept propped up against my still-packed gear while the others slept in their bedrolls.  
Suddenly, I head Detra speaking very softly. "Let's go."  
I stirred then snapped awake.  
I pulled the door flap aside enough to see some of Detra's followers descending on the rope lines. Now was the perfect time to figure out what they were doing.  
I left the hut and took a rope line down to a lower branch. On the ground below me, Detra's freedom fighters were quietly pushing the loaded wagon as she led them out of the camp. I stealthily followed.  
In the dark valley, a walled town sat on the far side of a river that cut through the forest. Upstream, and up toward the wall of the valley there was an old falls, and beyond that a man-made dam. A bare cliff off to the reservoir's left provided the view.  
As Detra and her boys emerged form the forest, I hid behind a large group of bushes. She went to the edge and looked down on the dam below. The reservoir behind it was low. She turned back to the wagon.  
"Now listen—you are not to blow the dam until I give the signal. If the reservoir isn't full, the Fire Nation troops could survive," she said.  
I stiffened.  
The Duke jumped off the wagon.  
"But what about the people in the town—won't they get wiped out too?" he asked sadly.  
Detra placed a hand on his shoulder.  
"Look Duke, that's the price of ridding this area of the Fire Nation," she said. She turned to Longshot. "Now don't blow the dam until I give the signal—got it?"  
Longshot nodded silently, his face grave.  
I watched for a few more moments and just as I was about to leave, I heard rustling just behind me. I gasped as a large hand dragged me out by my hair. I looked up to see Pipsqueak holding me up by the strands. Smellerbee's knife was instantly at my throat.  
"Where do you think you're going, ponytail?" Smellerbee sneered nastily. They started dragging me over to where Detra was standing near the edge of the cliff. If I could have gotten away from my captors, just one good shove would have sent her flying right over the edge. I smiled bitterly at the idea.  
Pipsqueak still had a handful of my hair as they stooped just in front of her.  
"Alana. I'm glad you decided to join us," she said coldly.  
My captors sent me to my knees. I rubbed a soar spot on my shoulder where they had squeezed too hard.  
I glared at her. "I heard your plan to destroy the Earth Kingdom town."  
She smiled icily. "Our plan is to rid the valley of the Fire Nation."  
I jumped to my feet. "There are people living there Detra—mothers and fathers and children."  
"We can't win without making some sacrifices," she said, annoyed.  
I pointed an accusing finger at her.  
"You lied to Odette and Kole about the forest fire!"  
She shrugged. "Because they don't understand the demands of war. Not like you and I do."  
"I do understand. I understand that there's nothing you won't do to get what you want."  
"I was hoping you'd have an open mind, but I can see you've made your choice," she sighed, feigning a saddened expression.  
Pipsqueak and Smellerbee grabbed for me. Before I could even react, Detra had my wrist pinned with the hooks of her shuang gou. My other hand was forced behind my back.  
"I can't let you warn Kole and Odette," she said, her green eyes narrowed to slits as she released my hand; it was immediately forced behind my back. She smiled smugly before turning to Smellerbee. "Take her for a walk-a long walk."  
"You can't do this!" I snarled.  
Detra tisked and grinned. "Cheer up, Alana. We're gonna win a great victory against the Fire Nation today."

Kole:

Detra led Odette and I up the riverside upriver from the dam. The collected water behind it was much less than the larger cavity of the reservoir. The river leading to down to it was a thread compared to its 'rainy season' gully. We were walking upriver along its west bank.  
"Detra—I'm sorry about how Alana's been acting," I said.  
"No worries—she already apologized," she said and I blinked at her in surprise.  
"Really?" Odette said, astounded. I stopped as she turned to look at me. "Alana apologized?"  
Detra nodded. "Yeah—I was surprised too. I got the sense that maybe you talked to her or something."  
"Yeah, I did," I said, still surprised. I hadn't expected her to actually listen to me though!  
"I guess something you said got through to her. Anyhow, she went out on a scouting mission with Pipsqueak and Smellerbee," Detra continued.  
I smiled slightly, relieved. "I'm glad she cooled off. She's so stubborn sometimes."  
We were now walking in the gully, beside the 'river'. Odette paused after noticing something strange, then was suddenly launched into the air by a blast from the geyser she was standing on.  
Detra turned. "All right, we're here. Underground water's trying to escape through these vents. I need you guys to help it along."  
I shifted on my feet uncomfortably, rubbing the back of my head as I stared at the geyser. "...I've never used bending on water I can't see. I don't know…"  
Detra stood in front of me and placed her hands on the sides of my face.  
"Kole. You can do this," she said, her green eyes shining in confidence.  
Odette floated back on the ground. "What about me?"  
Detra laughed lightly. "I know the Avatar can do this."  
I smiled and nodded in agreement.  
Odette and I walked over to one of the geysers, standing on either side of the smoking hole. While Detra looked on, we performed bending movements: encouraging the water up. After a few minutes, a blobby stream of water emerged from the hole. We pulled it to our height, and then sent it towards the river where it continued to flow like a giant garden hose. The water quickly joined the river.  
Detra cheered. "Yes! Good job! This river empties into the reservoir-a few more geysers and it'll be full."  
"Look, there's another steam vent," Odette said and grabbed my wrist, tugging me to another geyser.  
"Okay. You two keep it up—I'll go check on things at the reservoir," Detra said and turned and walked away.  
I turned back to her before she disappeared. "When we're done we'll meet you over there."  
She froze for a moment before answering. "Actually...probably better if you meet me back at the hideout when you're done."  
She resumed walking away as Odette and I bent the next geyser into another fountain.  
After what felt like half an hour, we decided to call it quits. As we finished with one of the geysers, Odette huffed and looked around her.  
"...I bet that's enough—and I'm not just saying that to be lazy."  
Around us, a half dozen fountains flowed into the river. I laughed and nodded in agreement.  
"Let's catch up with Detra at the reservoir."  
"I thought we agreed to meet Detra back at the hideout," she said, uncertain.  
"Well, we finished early-I'm sure she'll be happy to see us," I said, smiling to myself as we began to head back down the river.

At around midday, we made it to the cliff that overlooked the reservoir. Odette and I were standing on the edge of the cliff. At the base of the dam, four of Detra's people were unloading barrels from the wagon and arranging them.  
I peered closer, trying to figure out what it was they were moving.  
"...What are they doing?" I asked Odette.  
Odette came and looked at the dam. She started in surprise. "Hey, those are the red barrels she got from the Fire Nation."  
I frowned, confused. "Why would they need blasting jelly?"  
Odette gasped and her face paled in horror.  
"Because Detra's gonna blow up the dam," she said, her voice strained.  
I balked at her. "What? No-that would destroy the town. Detra wouldn't do that."  
It was impossible. Everything the Freedom Fighters did was to protect the innocent, to rid the land of the Fire Nation. Detra wouldn't sacrifice an entire village for her plans . . . would she? Odette seemed to think so.  
She snapped her glider wings open. "I've gotta stop her," she said and ran for the edge.  
"Detra wouldn't do that," I mumbled in shock, less certain now.  
Before Odette could reach the edge, Detra suddenly crossed her path from behind and snatched the glider. Odette was left wobbling precariously on the edge, and used an airbending move to get herself back on stable footing.  
"Yes I would," Detra said calmly, her face grim.  
I froze. "Detra—why?"  
She didn't turn to look at me. "Kole, you would too if you just stopped to think. Think about what the Fire Nation did to your mother—we can't let them do that to anyone else, ever again."  
"This isn't the answer!" I pleaded with her.  
She turned to me and walked over, her eyes sad. "I want you to understand me Kole. I thought your sister would understand, but—"  
"Where's Alana?" I growled, angry. Alana had been right I should have never trusted Detra.  
She reached out and touched my face. "Kole?"  
I bowed my head, then with a shout sent Detra flying with the water from my water skin. I drew it back into the skin when I was done.  
Odette looked over at me, just as stung by the betrayal. "I need to get to the dam," she said.  
Her closed glider was on the ground. As she reached for it, the crescent end of one of Detra's shuang gou pinned it like an axe. She had the two weapons hook to hook; with a yank she pulled the sword and Odette's glider to her.  
"You're not going anywhere without your glider," she said icily, flicking her red hair over her shoulder.  
She swung the swords—still hook to hook—at Odette. Odette somersaulted backwards to avoid the extra reach. She finished her retreat in a nearby tree.  
"I'm not gonna fight you, Detra," she snapped, angry.  
Detra smiled nastily. "You'll have to if you want your glider back."  
Odette retreated back into the forest as Detra hooked the branch and pulled herself up.  
I followed on the ground, my eyes locked on Odette, worried.  
Detra attacked and Odette defended herself with balls of air, which Detra ducked. She attacked head on, but Odette blocked with her arms and sent her opponent flying into a tree trunk with an air kick.  
Detra combined her swords again and advanced. Odette avoided the flail-like move and sent another air blast. Detra stooped down and let the air flow over and past her, then lunged.  
They continued the chase through the many levels of the forest. Detra caught up to Odette and sent them both freefalling, attacking as they went. They both ended up on a branch. Detra continued her attack wile Odette avoided it all.  
Detra charged again, but Odette hit her with a jet stream of air and she fell. She recovered, but lost the glider in the process. Before Odette could get to the ground, Detra kicked her into a trunk and she landed with a thud next to her glider.  
Odette was slow to get up. She pushed herself halfway up before her arms trembled and she collapsed. Detra wasted no time in walking over and delivering a sharp kick to her side. Odette gasped and rolled over, her grey eyes wide with pain. Detra planted a boot right in Odette's stomach and raised one of her swords, preparing to strike.  
Before she could make even the slightest of movements however, she was hit by a large water strike that I sent flying her way, using the water of a small river near them. I threw her as I hard as I could against the trunk of a tree. Over and over, I attacked, my rage controlling me now. Detra was unable to cut the water and its force plastered her against the trunk. I bent the water to ice; the soggy renegade was left frozen from toe to neck.  
I ran over to Odette and helped her to her feet. She was still trying to find her breath and I didn't want to move her. I brushed her long dark hair out of her eyes and helped her sit up.  
"Why, Detra? I can't believe I trusted you. You lied to me—you're sick and I trusted you!" I yelled furiously, still hurt. I was angry at her, but mostly, I was angry at myself. I had been stupid and blind, and now, not only had I hurt Alana, but now an entire village of people was in danger. Killing women and children and harmless men was not a necessary sacrifice, it was a tragedy.  
A signal call was suddenly heard. Odette and I were startled, then we looked to the valley beyond—where it was coming from. Detra gave an answer call.  
I looked at her in panic. "What are you doing?"  
She smiled smugly at me. "You're too late."  
"No!" I gasped, horrified.  
Odette snapped open her glider and ran for the nearby cliff/waterfall. Her glider's wing was so shredded however, that she has no lift and slammed back into the ground near the edge. I ran over to help her.  
She turned to me as we stood up. "Alana's still out there—she's our only chance."  
"Come on, Alana. I'm sorry I ever doubted you. Please," I said quietly, willing her to hurry, wherever she was.  
A flaming arrow suddenly arced down to the base of the dam as we watched in horror.  
"No…" I whispered.  
The center of the dam exploded in a cloud of smoke and fire. Odette and I watched a massive wall of water go over the 'dry' falls and down to the town. Inside the town the streets seemed empty except for the occasional barrel and a market table with cabbages. The water rushed through the open gate, as a cresting wave dwarfed it. The wall and gate were swallowed as the wave struck the town.  
Even from here, I could see in the flotsam a smiling doll in a purple dress as it floated away.  
"Alana didn't make it in time," Odette said, her voice pained. A tear fell down her cheek.  
"All those people…" I said, just as sad. I turned in rage back to Detra. "Detra—you monster!"  
"This was a victory, Kole. Remember that. The Fire Nation is gone and this valley will be safe," she shot back victoriously.  
"It will be safe—without you," Alana's voice suddenly said.  
In shock, Detra looked up to see Alana, Emrys and Fang rise from below the level of the cliff. Alana had Emrys's reins.  
"Alana!" I gasped happily.  
"I warned the villagers of your plan, just in time," Alana continued, ignoring me as she fixed a smug gaze on Detra.  
"What!" she gasped, furious.  
"At first they didn't believe me. The Fire Nation soldiers assumed I was a spy. But one man vouched for me—the old man you attacked. He urged them to trust me, and we got everyone out in time."  
"Alana, you fool! We could've freed this valley!" Detra snarled, strands of her hair sticking to her face as she glared daggers at Alana.  
Alana's eyes darkened. "Who would be free—everyone would be dead."  
"You traitor!" Detra screeched.  
"No, Detra. You became the traitor when you stopped protecting innocent people."  
Detra turned to me. "Kole. Please—help me."  
I snorted. Yeah right.  
"Goodbye Detra," I said, waving as Odette and I climbed up onto Emrys's saddle.  
Alana gave Emrys's reigns a flick once we were settled.  
"Yip yip," she said hardly and Detra was left behind on the ground, still frozen to the tree.  
The sky we flew through was empty, save a few wispy clouds.  
Odette turned up to Alana happily. "We thought you were going to the dam. How come you went to the town instead?"  
I smiled. "Lemme guess—your instincts told you."  
Alana pulled a face. "Hey—sometimes they're right."  
Odette giggled. "Um...Alana? You know we're going the wrong way, right?"  
She was surprised, but quickly recovered. "...And sometimes they're wrong." With a grin, she pulled Emrys's reigns and headed in the opposite direction.


	12. Chapter 11: The Great Divide

Odette:

The sun was setting behind some tall rock outcroppings. The sky was mostly cloudy and the clouds reflected the light of the dying sun. As I bustled around camp, I looked over my shoulder to see our patched up tent being jostled about from the inside. A rolled up tarp lay next to the tent. Inside the tent, Alana could be heard grunting and fussing about as she tried to finish setting up the shelter.  
Finally, the tent was raised and Alana emerged from behind the tent's flap opening. As she did, Kole returned from gathering supplies for the fire, carrying an arm load of wood in his arms.  
Kole paused as he passed by, looking at the tent critically. "Um...aren't you forgetting the TARP?"  
Alana looked around before she nodded. "Right...got it."  
She picked up the rolled up tarp and threw it through the open flap and into the tent.  
Kole glared at her. "Alana, you're supposed to put the tarp on TOP of the tent. You know, so we don't get RAINED on," he said crossly.  
Alana gestured widely as she replied to her brother. "Ordinarily you'd be right, but seeing how it's the dry season, you're not. Besides, that tarp makes a pretty warm blanket."  
"But what if it DOES rain?" he argued back and I rolled my eyes. It was still amazing to me how the two could pick a fight over something at least twice a day and not get exhausted from it.  
Alana spread her arms wide in exasperation. "But what if it doesn't? Then I would have put the tarp up for nothing."  
Kole stomped the ground and gritted his teeth. "Ur...arg! You're infuriating!"  
"Kole, why don't you worry about gathering the firewood because that kindling's looking PRETTY sorry," she snapped back, tossing her long hair over her shoulder.  
He looked at the firewood in his hands and even I had to admit it was pretty small. Kole looked sullen for a moment before then exploding in anger.  
"Well if you don't like my firewood…" he threw the wood at his sister "…have it!"  
Alana raised her hands to shield herself, a shocked expression on her pretty face. She stood in anger after the hail of sticks subsided.  
"Fine by me! If you're not going to do your job," she yanked the rope securing the tent to one of its supports and it fell down in a heap. "...urg!"  
As the tent collapsed, I approached from behind it. My hands were full of some kind of food I'd found so if they started swinging at each other there was nothing I could do about it. Kole and Alana stood on opposite sides of me, the fallen tent between them. They glowered at each other furiously, not even blinking.  
I tried by changing the subject. "Okay, I got the grub if you guys got the…"  
Kole and Alana turned away from each other instantly, their arms across their chests, expressions of sullen anger on their faces. I tried to play dumb since I didn't want them to know I had been eavesdropping on their argument; they hated it when I did that.  
"Hey, where's the campfire? And what happened to the tent?" I asked innocently.  
"Why don't you ask Mister Know It All? King of the Twigs!" Alana growled, still not looking at him.  
Kole whipped around to yell at his sister's back.  
"Oh yeah?" he snapped, pointing an accusatory finger. "Well you're Miss Lazy Bum, Queen of the tents!"  
He bent down quickly, picked up a twig, and threw it at his sister. The twig hit Alana in the back of the head and she whipped around to face him.  
I laughed, and spread my arms wide in a gesture of conciliation. "Okay, listen guys. Harsh words won't solve problems, action will. Why don't you just switch jobs?"  
Kole thought for a moment before he sighed. "Sounds good."  
"Whatever," Alana muttered a second later.  
Both began their new tasks, but each was still fuming at the other.  
I smiled in a self satisfied manner. "You see that? Settling feuds and making peace. All in a days work for the Avatar."  
My smile broke though as I looked behind me at the sound of Fang yapping. He was desperately trying remove a melon that Emrys was holding upright with one of the talons of her left foot. Fang struggled and even tried to bite her, but could not move the melon. He gave up and began to walk away, depressed. Emrys bellowed, opened her mouth, and her tongue scooped up the melon. As she was about to close her mouth, Fang returned, grabbed the melon and ran away. He ran into me and I took the melon, threw it into the air and sliced a small piece of it off with a jet of air. The large piece landed in front of Emrys who ate it, and the small piece landed in front of Fang, who turned to me and let out a bark of protest.  
I gave him a stern look. "Come on Fang, that's fair." I motioned to Emrys. "Emrys's got FIVE stomachs."

Kole:

The next day, we were standing on the rim of a canyon, looking across it. Fang ran around us, yapping loudly. The view was absolutely breathtaking, which seemed to be a common theme with every place Odette took us too.  
"Here it is, guys, the Great Divide," she said grandly.  
"Wow! I could just stare at it forever," I said, glancing at her. She smiled at me, her sweet heart-shaped face brightening.  
"Okay. I've seen enough," Alana said from behind us, unimpressed.  
I rolled my eyes and turned to look at her. "How can you not be fascinated, Alana? This is the largest canyon in the entire world."  
She was standing next to Emrys and holding her reigns, obviously ready to leave.  
"Then I'm sure we'll be able to see it very clearly from the air while we fly away," she said, bored.  
Suddenly a man in an ornate white robe rushed past Alana and rudely pushed her out of the way.  
"Hey! If you're looking for the Canyon Guide, I was here first!" the man said aggressively, yelling in Odette's face. I glared at him threateningly until he made the smart choice and backed away.  
I clasped my hands in front of me, trying to keep things civil and changed the subject. "Ooooo...canyon guide. Sounds informative."  
"Believe me, he's more than a tour guide, he's an earthbender. And the only way in and out of the canyon is with his help. And he's takin' MY tribe across next!" the scout snapped.  
As he yammered, Alana emerged from behind him and silently started to mock him by opening and closing her hand in the "this guy talk too much" gesture. At the conclusion of the Scout's talk he looked at Alana, who feigned innocence and walked off to where Odette and I were standing.  
"Calm down, we know you're next," Alana said, rolling her eyes.  
The scout jabbed a finger at her and her blue eyes narrowed icily.  
"You wouldn't be calm if the Fire Nation destroyed YOUR home and forced YOU to flee." He gestured to the vast canyon system in front of us. "My whole tribe has to walk thousands of miles to the capital city of Ba Sing Se!"  
I blinked in surprise. "You're a refugee."  
"Humph. Tell me somethin' I don't know," he replied bitterly.  
I studied him for a moment before I saw some movement out of the corner of my eye and glanced up at the path leading up the canyon rim back through the surrounding forest. In the distance, a mass of people approached.  
I pointed a finger at them. "Is that your tribe?"  
The scout turned and his stare changed to one filled with hatred. "It most certainly is NOT."  
I returned my gaze to the people approaching us. They were dressed in rude animal skins and looked generally unkempt.  
"That's the Zhang tribe. A bunch of low-life thieves. They've been the enemies of my tribe for 100 years," the scout muttered darkly. He whistled rudely at the Zhang tribe. "Hey Zhangs! I'm savin' a spot for my tribe so don't even THINK of stealing it!"  
A huge Zhang woman walked up to the Scout menacingly. The Scout leaned back, somewhat intimidated.  
"Where are the rest of the Gan Jin? Still tidying up their campsite?" she growled.  
The scout leaned forward to push the Zhang Leader back. "Yes! But they sent me ahead of them to hold a spot."  
The Zhang Leader snorted. "I didn't know the canyon Guide took reservations."  
"Heh! Of course you didn't. That's the ignorance I'd expect from a messy Zhang! So unorganized and ill prepared for a journey," he snarled.  
The entire Zhang tribe began to grumble loudly at this. An angry mob was about to form. I shot a look at Odette who was watching them, looking disconcerted. Fang was behind us, sitting curiously on a pile of rocks on the lip of the canyon.  
Suddenly, the sound of moving earth was heard and the rocks underneath the wolf quivered and began to split apart. Fang jumped away as the rocks were picked up and thrown out of the way by an old man, the Canyon Guide I assumed, in a straw hat and green clothing.  
"Sorry about the wait, youngsters," he grunted, gesturing to the majestic canyon below us. "Who's ready to cross this here canyon?"  
"Um…" I pointed to my right. "One of them I think."  
We all looked back over at the Zhang tribe and the Scout, the latter of which ran forward.  
"I was here first! My party's on their way!" he shouted eagerly.  
The Canyon Guide shook his head apologetically. "I can't guide people who aren't here."  
The Zhang started filing past the three of us and the fuming Gan Jin Scout.  
The Zhang Leader spoke with mock sadness. "Guess you guys'll have to make the trip tomorrow."  
I glanced at the scout, whose eyes twitched in anger. Suddenly there was a noise in the distance and we looked back to see another tribe entering the canyon entrance area. The Scout pointed to them in triumph.  
"Wait! Here they come!"  
Several Gan Jin were walking in stately order towards us. They were all dressed elegantly and wore formal expressions on their faces. The Zhang Leader whipped around to look at the newcomers.  
I pulled Odette against my side protectively as the two hostile tribes now faced each other with Emrys and us between them.  
The Zhang Leader pointed a finger at the Canyon Guide's chest. "You're not seriously going to cave into these spoiled Gan Jins! I mean, we're refugees too! And we've got sick people that need shelter."  
The Canyon Guide held out the palms of his hands in a gesture of placation. "I...uh...well…"  
A white haired man, the Gan Jin Leader, stood next to the Scout.  
"We've got old people who are weary from traveling," the scout cried.  
"Sick people get priority over old people," Zhang snapped.  
"Maybe you Zhang's wouldn't have so many sick people if you weren't such slobs," The Gan Jin Leader hissed.  
"If you Gan Jins weren't so clean, maybe you wouldn't live to be so old," the woman screeched.  
The Gan Jin Leader snorted. "I could smell your stink a mile away."  
"Well Odette, ready to put your peace making skills to the test?" I said quietly, leaning closer to her as the two continued to bicker.  
Odette looked to the ground in doubt. "I...don't know. A fight over chores is one thing. These people have been feuding for 100 years."  
I patted her shoulder and then walked forward and raised my voice to be heard by all. "Everyone, listen up!" I pointed backward at Odette, a fierce look on my face. "This is the Avatar! And if you give her a chance, I'm sure she can come up with a compromise that will make everyone happy."  
The two tribes looked to Odette for a moment in silence. Odette, who after a moment offered an obvious solution.  
"Uh...you could share the earthbender and travel together?" she said uncomfortably.  
Gan Jin Leader immediately dismissed this. "Absolutely not! We'd rather be taken by the Fire Nation than travel with those stinking thieves."  
The Zhang Leader, who, in turn, pointed an accusing finger at the Gan Jin Leader. "We wouldn't travel with you pompous fools anyway!"  
"I am not pompous!" he replied rather pompously.  
General pandemonium broke out as the tribes began to yell at each other. This continued for a moment or two before Odette intervened.  
"Alright! Here's the deal!" she yelled angrily. "We're all going down together and Farrah here will fly your sick and elderly across. Does that seem fair?"  
The two leaders nodded their grudging approval and I breathed in relief. I smiled at Odette who in turned had a small smile on her own face.

Odette:

Emrys grumbled at me in annoyance, her saddle now full of elderly and sick Gan Jin and Zhang people. The two groups eyed each other suspiciously in the saddle. They sat as far away as possible from each other.  
"Sorry Emrys. You'll have to do this on your own," I said, patting her as she grunted.  
"This feuding tribe stuff is serious business. Are you sure it's a good idea getting involved in this?" Alana asked, coming up beside me.  
I shook my head. "To tell the truth, I'm not sure. But when have I ever been?"  
Kole put a hand on my shoulder comfortingly. "She's the Avatar, Alana. Making peace between people is her job."  
Alana slumped in despair. "Her job's gonna make us cross this whole thing on foot, isn't it?"  
The Canyon Guide suddenly clapped his ahnds loudly, getting everyone's attention. "Okay, now comes the bad news. No food allowed in the canyon. It attracts dangerous predators," he said and made motions with his hands to illustrate the skittery monsters that might lurk in the canyon.  
The tribes dissatisfied cacophony rose again at the interdiction against food.  
"No food! This is ridiculous," the Gan Jin Leader shouted.  
The Canyon Guide pulled a sad face. "Aww, you babies can go a day without food. Would you rather be hungry...or dead?"  
At this, the Guide raised a pillar of stone underneath him. He now towered ten feet or more over the rest. He continued, cupping his hands to his mouth to amplify his voice.  
"Now, we're headin' down in 10 minutes. All food better be in your gut, or in the garbage!"  
The Zhang whipped various bits of food out of their tunics and began to eat sloppily. The Gan Jin on the other hand ate little bits of food with chopsticks. I noticed that when the Gan Jin were done, they dabbed their lips with a white napkin.  
I shook my head and turned to address the people in Emrys's saddle.  
"Emrys's gonna take good care of you until we get there," I said and dropped down to the ground and addressed Emrys. "See ya on the other side, buddy. Yip, yip!"  
Emrys simply grunted and flew off, making a bee-line with her passengers for the other side of the canyon.

Kole:

The Canyon Guide's outpost was still visible at the top on the canyon rim after an hour of walking had passed. Underneath, we were walking down a steep, switch-back path. Odette and the Canyon Guide were leading the procession.  
The Guide put a hand in front of Odette to stop her as we came to a break in the path in front of us. The drop was hundreds of feet down.  
The Guide whirled around and made a motion with his outstretched arm and fist. With a grunt of effort, blocks of stone pushed outward from the canyon wall face to repair the path in front of us.  
Odette nodded her approval. "Nice bending!"  
We began to move forward again.  
"The job's much more than bending, kid. Folks want information," he replied, smiling and scratching his bushy white mustache.  
We stopped suddenly and the Canyon Guide turned to address the crowd. He continued in a slightly bored voice.  
"Many of you are probably wondering how canyons are formed. Experts tell us this canyon was most likely carved into the ground by Earth Spirits who were angry at local farmers for not offering them a proper sacrifice," he bellowed and I smirked as Odette tried to hide her smile.  
Alana and I looked at each other in amusement, then gasped and looked up at the sound of rumbling from above. A rock slide was beginning above us. The rocks came down on the group, but were quickly bent away by the Canyon Guide into the canyon below.  
The Canyon Guide laughed. "Guess the spirits are still angry! Hope you all brought sacrifices."  
Our group was now at the bottom of the switchback trail and we had just entered the canyon floor. The Guide stood in front of the two tribes and Odette, Alana, and I. "Okay...everyone stand clear of the wall," he said.  
The Canyon Guide earthbent a nearby rock outcropping and threw it at the bridge he created earlier. The bridge was immediately destroyed.  
Odette turned to him, quirking an elegant eyebrow in confusion. "Why'd you do that?"  
The debris from the bridge landed behind us, raising a cloud of dust that obscured everything.  
The Canyon Guide shrugged. "These people are fleeing the Fire Nation, aren't they? I gotta make sure we can't be followed. We'll be safe now."  
A massive, insect shaped silhouette suddenly appeared in the dust behind the Guide. A pincer emerged from the dust and picked up the Guide, who yelped in surprise. Odette seemed to be frozen in shock for a second before she leaped into action, airbending the dust away with a yell.  
The monster was revealed. It was a huge, black insect like creature with four legs, red eyes, and a long thin mouth with teeth. The Canyon Guide was in the creature's mouth, screaming.  
"We gotta help him!" Alana yelled.  
She threw her boomerang. It flashed through the air and struck the beast on the head. It dropped the Guide and rushed Alana while the guide landed with a thump in the underbrush. The advancing monster slavered with its tongue hanging out. I turned in panic as Alana started running for her life, the creature close behind.  
"Okay...now you gotta help me!" she screamed.  
Alana ran over a rock outcropping. The creature followed over the outcropping as Alana doubled back. I arrived, opened my water bottle and whipped the creature with the water. It smacked the creature, but had little effect. It tried to bite me, but I lunged to the side as Odette dropped in front of me and shoot a blast of at the monster.  
It got blown backward, but charged again. With enough lead time before the creature reached her, Odette was able to create a tornado with her staff. She caught the creature in the tornado and threw it far up the cliff. Able to walk on the walls, the creature quickly hid in one of the canyon wall's many crevices.  
Odette turned back to the us, a look of concern on her face.  
"What was that?" she asked.  
After I was sure she was okay, I went over and kneeled over the distressed Guide who was laid out flat on the ground.  
"Canyon crawler," he said, his voice laced with pain. "Oh, ugh! And there's sure to be more."  
I prodded his arms gently and felt the bones in odd places. "Your arms...they're broken."  
The Canyon Guide's eyes widened. "Without my arms, I got no bending. In other words…"  
I looked over worriedly at Odette, the two tribes on either side of her.  
Odette looked back at me solemnly. "...we're trapped in this canyon."

Odette:

I watched grimly as Kole's capable hands finished a set of bandages on the Guide's arms.  
"I thought the whole point of ditching our food was so we wouldn't have to deal with things like...canyon crawlers…" Alana said from beside me.  
Gan Jin Leader suddenly popped up, a look of fury on his face. "It's the Zhangs! They took food down here, even after the guide told them not to!"  
The Zhang Leader approached the Gan Jin Leader with an accusatory finger pointed at him. "What! If there's anyone who can't go without food for a day, it's you pampered Gan Jins!"  
"I hope you're happy," he growled. "We're stuck in the canyon with no way out."  
I looked at them angrily, displeased at the resumption of the bickering while Kole shook his head.  
"Why don't you thank yourself, food hider!" The Zhang Leader shouted.  
I rubbed my eyes tiredly. "Look. Sticking together is the only way to…"  
The Zhang Leader rudely interrupting me and again pointed at the Gan Jin Leader. "I'm not walkin' another step with the likes of them."  
The Gan Jin Leader folded his arms across his chest. "Now, there's something we can agree on."  
I turned to look back at Kole and the Guide. "Any ideas?"  
"No bending. We need to get out of this canyon. I won't die down here! I won't become part of the food chain!" As the Guide spoke, his eyes widened and got wider as hysteria gripped his mind.  
The Gan Jin Leader suddenly started shouting again. "See? We're going to become part of the food chain because of YOU!"  
"Sure. Unjustly blame the Zhangs like you ALWAYS do!"  
"Gladly!"  
My anger reached a boiling point and I shot off a massive blast of wind that tore across the canyon, surprising everyone.  
"ENOUGH!" I screeched furiously. "I thought I could help you guys get along, but I guess that's not going to happen."  
I airbent myself to the top of a small bluff. The bluff was the beginning of what amounted to a stone baulk between two canyons on either side.  
"We should split up. Gan Jins on this side...and Zhangs on that side. We'll travel in two separate lines," I yelled, glaring at them all icily.  
The two leaders looked up at me, then at each other, then nodded. They and their following began to take their separate paths, Zhang on the left, Gan Jin on the right. I sighed and hopped down as Alana and Kole approached me. Kole had an unhappy expression on his face and I knew it was because he didn't like the idea of us being separated.  
"Alana, you go with the Zhangs. And Kole, you go with the Gan Jins. See if you can figure out why they hate each other so much," I said, nodding at them sternly. I was not going to budge on this one.  
After a moment of hesitating, Alana and Kole split up to follow their assigned tribes and I continued to walk along the bluff, watching them all closely as they followed their separate paths.

Alana:

It quickly faded from midday to dusk. Odette was standing atop another bluff, surveying the two groups setting up their camps below her. I remeberd what she had said to me earlier and I decided now would be the perfect opportunity to get some information. I didn't want the girl blowing my head off after all. She'd really surprised me today. Who knew the girl had a temper or a backbone for that matter?  
I casually came up behind the Zhang leader and put my hand to my chin as I observed.  
"So, you guys aren't going to put up your tarps?" I asked, thinking back to my last argument with my idiotic brother.  
The Zhang Leader looked at me in surprise. "What for? It's the dry season."  
I grinned, releasing suppressed exasperation. "Exactly!"  
The Zhang Leader turned to me, smiling. "Besides, we like to use the tarp as a blanket."  
I nodded my head in approval, loving the group I had ended up with. "Finally, someone gets it."  
Ha! Take that Kole!

Kole:

I looked around the Gan Jin camp curiously, liking what I was seeing so far. Their tents were pristine white and erected perfectly. I watched as two Gan Jin set up a tarp over one of their tents. I turned to the Gan Jin Leader and quirked an eyebrow curiously.  
"You really think it'll rain?" I asked.  
The Gan Jin Leader shook his head. "No, but you can never be too careful, right?"  
I smiled at the Gan Jin Leader, pleased at his response. The rest of the evening passed smoothly as night fell across the canyon.  
Crickets chirped as the moon shed silvery light down on the Gan Jin camp. The Gan Jin sat in a circle around the campfire and I took a place next to the leader. After a moment, the Gan Jin leader looked around and then produced some bread from underneath his robe.  
I gasped, my previous assessment of them changing in a heartbeat. Soon all the Gan Jin were eating food with their chopsticks. Obviously they all violated the ban.  
The Gan Jin Leader offered me some bread. "Would you care for some bread, Kole?"  
"So it was you guys who had food!" I growled, angry that they had almost gotten us all killed.  
The Gan Jin Leader waved his hand at my reaction. "Oh come now. You really think that tribe of thieves isn't smuggling food? Why should MY people go hungry when the sneaky Zhangs are stuffing their faces?"  
I hesitated, then took the bread, my stomache rumbling. "Well, I guess it's okay if everyone's doing it…"  
I ate a few bites, then turned back to the Gan Jin Leader. "So, why does your tribe hate the Zhang so much?"  
The Gan Jin Leader studied me for a moment. "You seem like a smart man, Kole. I bet you would enjoy hearing some history…"  
As he spoke, everyone immediately stopped eating and turned to their old leader, listening with rapt attention.  
"The patriarch of our tribe, Jin Wei, was an earthbender warrior who was assigned an important duty; transporting our sacred orb from the Great Eastern Gate to the Great Western Gate. Taking the orb from the east to the west represents the suns rising and setting. It was our tribe's ancient redemption ritual...but as he approached the gate, Jin Wei was attacked by one of the Zhang!"  
"A vermin, named Wei Jin, who looked at the orb with envy. That coward, Wei Jin, knocked Jin Wei to the ground and stole our sacred orb. Our people have never forgotten. You can never trust a Zhang," he concluded bitterly.  
I was shocked by the story. After I had processed everything that he had spoken to me, I looked towards the Zhang camp, an expression of hardness and suspicion spreading over my face.

Alana:

A fire crackled warmly next to us as I sat next to the Zhang leader. After a while, she suddenly produced a leg of meat from a bag and offered it to me.  
"Care for some meat?" she asked as my mouth watered and my stomach screamed at me to take the food.  
"Would I!?" I asked, and greedily grabbed the leg and began to eat hungrily.  
The Zhang Leader looked at the ground, ashamed. "I know what you must be thinking. We're horrible for endangering everybody by bringing food down here."  
I was munching, barely paying attention when I muttered a quick, "Mm hmm!"  
"The Gan Jin think so badly of us they probably assumed we brought food in and decided to bring food in themselves. That's why we brought food in," she continued.  
"Mmmm!" I said again, still munching.  
The Zhang Leader stared into the fire, her eyes lazing over as she looked off into the distance. "Our conflict with the Gan Jin goes back over a hundred years…"  
Here we go, I thought. And I didn't even have to pry! This was too easy.  
"Our forefather, Wei Jin, was leaving the western gate of our village...when he saw a figure in the distance. It was a man of the Gan Jin tribe, Jin Wei, collapsed on the ground.  
Noble Wei Jin stopped to help him."  
Jin Wei was transporting a sacred orb, a very powerful relic used in his tribe's redemption ritual. Wei Jin tried to tend to the man's wounds, but Jin Wei insisted the orb was more important, and asked him to take it back to his tribe. Kind Wei Jin promised to send help for the man as soon as he could, but as Wei Jin crossed the border to return the orb into Gan Jin territory he was arrested!"  
"Instead of thanking him for his kind and selfless deed, they sentenced him to twenty long years in prison. We Zhang's will never forget that injustice," she said bitterly.  
I stared at her sympathetically. "That's just terrible…"  
After a moment of silence, I pointed to her leg of meat. "You gonna finish that?"  
She took a bite in response and I looked away, depressed and slumped a bit…

Odette:

I sat with Fang snuggling next to me as we looked down at the camps below with longing.  
I sighed as I brushed my fingers through his thick, soft grey pelt.  
"Sure would be nice to be around one of those campfires, telling stories and laughing," I said. My words only seemed to bring the darkness and silence into more focus. Fang yapped softly, nuzzling my leg with his nose.  
I smiled and patted his head. "It's okay, Fang, we'll be out of here soon enough and then we can eat our weight in leechy nuts!"  
Fang's ears suddenly perked up as he heard a flying bug. He leapt away from me, caught it and offered it to me.  
I stared at it for a moment before I shook my head. "Nah, I'll wait for the leechy nuts."  
Fang wagged his tail and began chomping away happily. I smiled and shook my head at him, glad he was here to keep me company.  
"It's lonely, isn't it?" the Canyon Guide's voice suddenly spoke behind me. "Being impartial."  
I turned my head slightly in surprise, seeing him approach me. I turned back around as he took a seat next to me.  
"I wish I could help these people get along, but it just seems impossible. Anyhow, I guess our biggest problem is getting out of here," I said, brushing a stand of my long dark brown hair behind my ear.  
The Canyon Guide laid down next to me. "I'm not so sure the two problems are unrelated."  
I frowned at that. Figures he would say something like that then leave me hanging to dwell. He was worse than Athos for heaven's sakes!  
The Guide nodded off to sleep, and I looked away sadly, pondering his words as I watched over the tribes below.

Kole:

We all woke up bright and early the next day. As the camps were being packed up and everyone bustled about, I watch Odette as she oversaw everything from on her cliff. When everyone was up, the Guide and Odette still atop the baulk, the two tribes continued their trek on either side.  
"All clear! We're almost to the other side," The Guide shouted out and I breathed a sigh of relief. The sooner we got out of here the sooner I would be with Alana and Odette again. I wasn't a of being separated from them.  
As we walked, I realized that the baulk, or rock separator of the canyons that we had been using for travel, was coming to an end. The tribes were now in site of each other and Odette and the Canyon Guide were between us. Alana and I were bringing up the rear of each. We both branched away from the tribes and walked over to them.  
She smiled widely at us as we approached. "Kole, Alana, will these people cooperate long enough to get out of the canyon?"  
"I don't think so, Odette, the Zhang's really wronged the Gan Jins. They ambushed Jin We and stole the sacred orb," I said, somewhat harshly.  
Odette blinked in surprise. "What are you talking about?"  
Alana turned and glared at me. "Yeh, Kole, what are you talking about? We Jin didn't steal the orb, he was returning it to their village gate and was wrongfully punished by the Gan Jin."  
I turned, my arms across my chest. "Not punished enough if you ask me!"  
Alana made angry, frustrated noises as Odette replied.  
"Okay! Okay! I get it! Now I need your help. Let's get everyone together at the base of the canyon wall," she snapped, rubbing her forehead again. I felt a small stab of guilt; she'd been doing that a lot lately.  
Odette then opened her glider and flew off. The two tribes were once again facing each other. Odette landed between them. Alana and I raced over to her and as we drew closer, we saw that they were arguing once again. Odette folded her glider up and addressed the crowd.  
"Please everyone! As soon as we get out of here we can eat, and then go our separate ways, but I need you all to put your heads together and figure out a way up this cliff," she said.  
"Maybe the Zhang can climb the walls with their long, disgusting fingernails," the Gan Jin leader said snidely.  
The Zhang Leader rolled her eyes. "Oh, sorry! I forgot that to the Gan Jin, unclipped fingernails is a crime punishable by twenty years in jail!"  
The Gan Jin Leader whipped on her. "Why you dirty thief!"  
"You pompous fool!" she shot back.  
The tribes began taunting and arguing with each other again. This time Alana and I have become partisans of our respective tribes.  
Odette glanced back and forth between us angrily. "Guys! FOCUS! How many times do I have to say it? Harsh words won't solve problems, ACTION will!"  
"Perhaps the Avatar is right," the Zhang Leader said.  
"Yes, perhaps she is…"  
I looked at Odette, whose eyes were shiny with hope and she smiled widely.  
The Zhang Leader turned to her enemy. "Harsh words will never solve our problems…"  
"...action will!" the Gan Jin leader finished.  
Both leaders drew their swords and approached each other. They crossed swords in front of Odette, who drew back with a cry of surprise and fear.

Odette:

As the two leaders faced off against one another, the tribes watched the spectacle in awe.  
"To the death! And let this be the end of this rivalry!" the Gan Jin leader cried.  
Perfect.  
"You know, I take it back! Harsh words aren't so bad!" I said nervously.  
The leaders ignored me and began the fight in earnest. After several feints and thrusts, they pushed each other apart. The Gan Jin's lower beard fell off, and one of the Zhang's hair braids fell off. They rushed at each other again, but as they met, I brought my staff down and blew the two sides backwards.  
When the dust cleared, I was breathing heavily, a savage look on my face. I had never been so angry before in my life. I looked over to the Gan Jin on my left and my jaw dropped in shock.  
A wrapped blanket of food had opened and spilled its contents all over. One of the Gan Jin kicked the blanket cover back over some of the food.  
"Is that...Food?" I said in disbelief. "Everyone smuggled food down here!?"  
Turning back to the Zhang, I lost it. "UNBELIEVABLE! You guys put our lives in danger because you couldn't go without a snack for a day!? You are all...AWFUL!"  
My eyes suddenly became huge as I spied something among the Zhang. On a blanket was a pie! In my eyes, it was like it was instantly highlighted with a shaft of light as if from heaven. I grabbed my gurgling stomach my eyes still huge.  
"So hungry…" I whispered then pointed at the pie, desperately trying to retain self control. "Is that...egg custard in that tart?"  
Suddenly, the expression of the people around me changed, and that was what finally snapped me out of it. I turned and my eyes widened in alarm as I spotted many canyon crawlers emerge simultaneously, attracted by the scent of food. The monsters were soon upon us and the tribes fled. Kole and Alana got behind the nearest rock.  
"Oh no! That's a lot of canyon crawlers!" Kole said as people ran.  
Alana drew out her boomerang. "We barely survived one!"  
The Canyon Guide appeared behind them, walking backwards in terror. "They're coming back for me! They've had a taste, and they're coming back for me!"  
Alana moved to leave the shelter of the rock and attacked, an expression of determination on her face, but she was grabbed by Kole.  
"Alana, wait! I don't care about this stupid feud! I just want us to get out of here alive," he said.  
Alana nodded, looking chagrined. "Me too. I only took their side because they fed me."  
I shook my head as they both ran from behind the rock, then turned my attention to the canyon crawlers. I lifted up on my glider, landed, and airbent a gale at a wall of the insects. It had no effect. They charged and butted heads as I jumped into the air just as they reached me. I blasted them away from each other as I fell back down. This stunned them momentarily, but they got back up.  
General melee now began as the creatures attacked the tribes. The Zhang leader forced one back with her curved sword, while Kole water whipped another that was threatening two Gan Jins. Another monster broke his whip, however, and he lost the water. Alana was chased by a crawler, but she hit it with her boomerang. I airbent four more crawlers out of my way. I glanced around and saw that the crawlers had cornered small bands of tribes people all over the place. I looked over to see the crawlers chewing food, their heads inside the food bags.  
Suddenly, I got an idea.  
"Everybody! Watch me!" I shouted and I raised a food bag to show everybody. "Do what I do!"  
I leaped toward the nearest bunch of crawlers and threw a piece of food at them. One of the crawlers caught the food in its mouth and ate it. The crawler ran to me, but I put the bag over its snout. I then catapulted myself onto its back and used the bag straps as reigns. The two tribes now worked together, repeating the process to turn the monsters into riding mounts. Soon all the tribes people had a canyon crawler mount.  
"Now, follow me! We're riding out of this hole!" I shouted.  
Grinning evilly, I swing a rod with a bag of food on the end in front of my mount, which turned around and started climbing the climb. I was soon joined by the rest, the whole troop moving up the cliff. I held onto Fang tightly as we continued upward. Soon my ride and I mounted the cliff and I dismounted.  
"Everyone! Get off!"  
Kole, Alana, and the two leaders dismounted quickly.  
"We made it!" the Zhang leader said to the Gan Jin leader.  
The Canyon Guide fell off his mount and I threw a bag of food over the cliff, dropping food as it fell. The crawlers ran after it, disappearing over the edge.  
"I never thought a Gan Jin could get his hands dirty like that," Zhang said.  
"And I never knew you Zhang's were so reliable in a pinch," Gan Jin replied.  
"Perhaps we're not so different after all…"  
I sighed happily, Alana and Kole coming up behind me. Kole wrapped me up in a big bear hug from behind and I laughed.  
"Too bad we can't rewrite history," Gan Jin suddenly snarled. He drew his sword and pointed it at the Zhang leader. "You thieves stole our sacred orb from Jin Wei!"  
The Zhang Leader drew her sword. "You tyrants unjustly imprisoned We Jin for twenty long years!"  
Kole put me down as I cried out and grabbed the side of my face in frustration. Then an idea light up my face.  
"Wait a second! Jin Wei? Wei Jin? I know those guys!" I said.  
The Gan Jin Leader rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, we're all aware of the story."  
"No!" I said and the leaders lowered their weapons and turned to me. "I mean I really knew them. I may not look it, but I'm a hundred seventeen years old. I was there a hundred years ago on the day you're talking about…  
"There seems to be a lot of confusion about what happened. First of all, Jin Wei and Wei Jin weren't enemies, they were brothers, twins in fact and they were eight and most importantly, they were just playing a game! The sacred orb from the legend...that was the ball. And the eastern and western gates were the goal posts. Jin Wei had the ball and was running toward the goal when he fell and fumbled it. Win Jei didn't steal the ball, he picked it up and started running it back toward the other goal. But he stepped out of bounds, so the official put him in the penalty box, not for twenty long years, but for two short minutes. There was no stealing and no putting anyone in prison. Just a game," I concluded simply, smiling at my own story.  
The Zhang Leader quirked an eyebrow. "You're saying the sacred orb was actually a sacred ball?"  
I shook my head. "Nope, just a regular ball."  
"What about our tribe's redemption ritual?" the scout suddenly spoke up.  
I rolled my eyes. "That's what the game was called, Redemption. As soon as someone got the ball from one goal to the other everyone would yell, "redemption!" Don't get me wrong, Wei Jin was kind of a slob and Jin Wei was a little stuffy, that much is true, but they respected each others differences enough to share the same playing field."  
The Zhang Leader turned to the Gan Jin Leader. "I suppose it's time we forget the past…"  
The Gan Jin Leader smiled, bowing to the Zhang Leader. "...and look to the future."  
The Zhang Leader bowed in turn as I, smiling, looked on.

* * * *

Kole:

By midday, we were all still standing around at the canyon rim. Emrys and the elderly and sick were there now as well. I watched in amusement as Odette ran forward, hugging Emrys tightly, grinning adorably. Alana, the Guide, and I stood back, giving her some space. I think she'd had enough of us for the past few days.  
"Good to see ya, girl! Did you miss me?" she asked, petting the eagle's snout lovingly.  
Emrys licked Odette as the Gan Jin leader approached.  
"I cannot thank you enough, Avatar," he said, bowing to her.  
Odette turned to him, drenched in Emrys's dragon saliva. "Well, you know, I try."  
The Gan Jin Leader shrunk in horror from Odette's slimed body and she laughed at his expression. The Gan Jin Leader shook his head at her before approaching his Zhang counterpart.  
The Zhang Leader turned to the crowd. "Let us travel to the Earth Kingdom capital as one tribe!"  
The crowd cheered and followed the leaders down the path. The Canyon Guide suddenly appeared again, running between us to follow the path.  
"I'm goin' too! I'm sick of this place!" he cried and Odette laughed again, the sound making my insides grow warm.  
"That's some luck you knew Jin Wei and Wei Jin," Alana said, watching Odette curiously.  
"You could call it luck," she said before grinning evilly. "Or, you could call it...Lying!"  
I stared at her in shock and Alana became angry at this pronouncement.  
"What!?" she snapped.  
"I made the whole thing up," Odette explained sheepishly.  
"You did not!" I said in disbelief. Then my disbelief turned to devilish admiration. "That is so wrong."  
Odette looked around. "Now where's that custard tart? I'm starving!"


	13. Chapter 12: The Storm

Odette:

I was having another dream.  
The world was slightly fuzzy and the sky was a peculiar cream color. I was shaking Emrys's reigns, smiling. Alana was flying gracefully on my glider one side of m, smiling at me. I smiled at Alana in return. I looked over to my right to see Kole flying on an enormous version of Fang. I waved at him.  
"We need you, Odette," Kole said.  
I smiled at him softly. "I need you too."  
I turned from Kole to look straight ahead in alarm. A huge, black storm cloud had gathered ahead.  
"Be careful guys! Guys?"  
I looked from side to side in surprise. Alana and Kole had disappeared and I was approaching the storm quickly. Suddenly, a cross-legged Monk Athos dropped from the thick clouds to rest just above Emrys's head.  
"Athos?"  
"Why did you disappear?" he asked me and I felt tears spring to my eyes.  
"I didn't mean to," I said, shaking my head furiously.  
I leaned forward to touch my old master, but before I could, Athos turned grey as ash and began to blow away, starting from the head down. Soon he was gone as well. After Athos disintegrated, Emrys and I entered the storm clouds.  
Atho's voice suddenly spoke, his voice surrounding me, echoing hollowly. "We need you, Odette."  
Inside the cloud, lightning illuminated the sky. It was pouring rain and I screamed as I held onto Emrys for my life. Emrys and I plunged into the sea in a replay of my accident a century ago. I relinquished my hold on Emrys and began to drift away in the water.  
"We need you, Odette. We need you." Many voices surrounded me, suffocating me as the drowned out every other sound.  
At the end of the last sentence, a vision of the Fire Lord, wreathed in flame, was visible for an instant in the afterglow of a lightning strike. At this horrifying vision I woke instantly from my dream with a start. It was night at our most recent camp. I disturbed Fang, who woke up Kole and Alana while trying to get away, Alana ready with her knife and boomerang.  
Alana muttered groggily. "Huh? Uh...what's going on? Did we get captured again?"  
I shook my head, breathing hard as I put a hand over my chest, feeling my heart racing. "It's nothing, I just had a bad dream. Go back to sleep."  
Alana snorted. "Don't have to tell me twice."  
Alana rolled over back to sleep. I sat up in a fetal position, a pained look on my face.  
Kole watched me closely, his eyebrows creased in worry. "Are you all right, Odette?"  
I nodded and smiled at him reassuringly. "I'm okay."  
Kole didn't buy it. "You seem to be having a lot of nightmares lately, you wanna tell me about it?"  
"I think I just need some rest," I said.  
Alana suddenly sat up, excited. "You guys want to hear about my dream?"  
She was met by silence, as Kole looked annoyed.  
"That's ok, I didn't wanna talk about it anyway," she said bitterly.  
Alana and Kole lay back down to sleep and I took a deep breath before snuggling back down into my warm sleeping bag.  
The next morning, I woke up bright an early, looking around at our campsite we'd made on a beach. Emrys was yawning and Kole was already packing for us to get under way. I stood up and stretched yawning sleepily. I got up and walked over to Emrys, patting the side of her head and pointed to the heavens.  
"Look at those clear skies, girl! Should be some smooth flying," I said.  
Kole examined the empty food bag. "Well, we better smoothly fly ourselves to a market, cause we're out of food."  
Alana shot up, alarmed. "Guys, wait, this was in my dream, we shouldn't go to the market."  
Kole frowned. "What happened in your dream?"  
Alana's eyes were bugged out in fright. "Food eats people!"  
Kole and I were are not impressed.  
Alana became more animated. "Also, Fang could talk. You said some very unkind things."

Ren:

A flock of birds flew by as my ship steamed towards the southeast. I was on the main deck, where Uncle Ira was sniffing the air for some reason I could not comprehend and I was trying to occupy my self by looking out of a telescope.  
"There is a storm coming. A big one," Uncle said and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.  
I lowered the telescope. "You're out of your mind, Uncle. The weather's perfect. There is not a cloud in sight."  
He shook his head. "The storm is approaching from the north. I suggest we alter our course and head southwest."  
"We know the Avatar is traveling northward, so we will do the same," I said stubbornly.  
Uncle sighed. "Prince Ren, consider the safety of the crew."  
I whipped around, my temper flaring. "The safety of the crew doesn't matter!"  
My eyebrow went up in concern as a crewmember entered from the left behind me. The Lieutenant, who had clearly overhead my remark was unhappy. Realizing this, I began to speak to the Lieutenant and walked up until my face was right in front of the Lieutenant's.  
"Finding the Avatar is far more important than any individual's safety," I growled threateningly.  
Spinning around, I entered the ship and shut the hatch behind me.

Kole:

We were at a harbor. Emrys was lying in the water next to one of the jetties as if she were a ship. I was busy examining a fruit at a produce stand in the harbor. The shopkeeper was clearly exasperated at my suspicion of the fruit's quality.  
"Ah, it's good! It's perfect, I'm telling you!" she yelled at me.  
I shook the fruit which made a swishing sound that didn't make me convinced.  
"I don't know if I like the sound of that swishing," I said doubtfully.  
The shopkeeper came around the stand to face me. Odette and Alana waited to the left of the produce stand, Alana carrying a basket of fruit.  
"Swishing means it's ripe! It's the ripe juices swishing around, eh?" the shopkeeper tried again  
Odette winked at me. "I think it's true, Kole, swishing means it's ripe."  
I smiled and put fruit back. "I just realized we're out of money anyway."  
The shopkeeper grabbed the basket from Alana. "Awww!"  
The shopkeeper kicked Alana as she walked by and I laughed.  
Back at the dock, we stood in a small circle while Alana rubbed the sport where she was kicked. An old fisherman and his wife walked behind us.  
"Out of food and out of money, now what are we supposed to do?" Alana whined, depressed.  
"You could get a job, smart one," I suggested. I could have too but since I was usually the one who did all the work, I kinda just wanted to watch Alana squirm for a while.  
Not too far away from us, the old woman grabbed the old man by the shoulder. They began a conversation amongst themselves, but we could easily overhear them.  
"We shouldn't go out there! Please, the fish can wait. There's going to be a terrible storm," the woman begged.  
The man shook her off. "Ahh, you're crazy! It's a nice day. No clouds, no wind, no nothing, so quit you're naggin' woman."  
"Maybe we should find some shelter?" Odette suggested, turning to us.  
Alana looked at her like she'd lost it. "Are you kidding? Shelter from what?"  
The old man and woman continued their argument.  
"My joints say there's going to be a storm! A bad one," she complained.  
"Well, it's your joints against my brain," the man snapped back.  
The Old Woman glowered at her husband. "Then I hope your brain can find someone else to haul that fish, cause I ain't comin!"  
"Then I'll find a new fish hauler and pay him double what you get! How do you like that?"  
Alana ran up to them. "I'll go!"  
"You're hired!" the man said, pointing to her.  
Alana turned Odette and I who were looking at her in surprise. "What? You said 'get a job' and he's paying double."  
The Old Man looked at Alana as if she were an alien. "Double? Who told ya that nonsense?"

Ren:

The black edges of an ominous storm loomed on the horizon. And my ship was making straight for it.  
I walked back out onto the deck, fuming at the turn of events. Everyone knew how much I hated being wrong.  
Four crewman, including the Lieutenant from before, were there looking at the storm clouds. The Lieutenant turned, folding his arms across his chest, to address me.  
"Uh! Looks like your uncle was right about the storm after all," he sneered.  
Uncle came then, entering from left. "Lucky guess."  
Furiously, I crossed the deck to the lieutenant.  
"Lieutenant, you'd better learn some respect," I snarled, pointing at his chest with two fingers. "Or I will teach it to you."  
I walked past the Lieutenant, who Emrysrently could no longer contain his contempt for me. As the Lieutenant spoke, Uncle made decapitation motions with his hand, trying to head off the conflict.  
"What do you know about respect? The way you talk to everyone around here, from your hard working crew to your esteemed uncle shows you know nothing about respect. You don't care about anyone but yourself! Then again, what should I expect from a spoiled prince?" he snapped.  
My anger boiled over. It was time to teach this disrespectful moron a lesson.  
I stopped in mid step shortly into the Lieutenant's speech. Uncle sighed and put his hand over his face, resigning himself to the brewing disaster. By the end of the tirade, my eyebrow was twitching. I was stung by the accusations although I didn't deny them. I turned and assumed a firebending stance, the Lieutenant following suit.  
Uncle approached, hands up in gesture of calming. "Easy now."  
The Lieutenant's and mine hands crossed at the wrists, indicating that the ritual of combat had begun. When they crossed, the sound of steel on steel was heard and smoke curled from where they met. Uncle appeared between us and broke our wrists apart in one neat movement.  
"Enough!" he growled. "We are all a bit tired from being at sea so long. I'm sure after a bowl of noodles everyone will feel much better."  
The lieutenant and I glared at each other a moment longer, then we both turned and walked away in opposite directions.  
"I don't need your help keeping order on my ship," I said coldly to my uncle.  
He placed a hand on my shoulder, but I rudely shoved him off. I walked to the bow, where it was clear the storm clouds now filled the sky.

Odette:

We were still at the harbor where Emrys was still wallowing in the water. As Alana was loading a fishing boat, I looked worriedly at the sky, which was clearly full of black storm clouds. The wind had picked up as well.  
"Alana, maybe this isn't such a good idea. Look at the sky," I said, really hoping she wouldn't go. I was starting to get a very bad feeling.  
Alana groaned. "I said I was gonna do this job. I can't back out just because of some bad weather."  
Old Woman came over to stand beside me. "The girl with the tattoos has some sense. You should listen to her!"  
The old man put down some boxes on the ship.  
"Girl with tattoos?" he said curiously. He turned to me and looked at me. "Airbender tattoos...well I'll be a hogmonkey's uncle! You're the Avatar, ain't ya?"  
I nodded slightly as Kole came over and put his hands comfortingly on my shoulders.  
"That's right," he said, smiling.  
"Well don't be so smiley about it. The Avatar disappeared for a hundred years," he snapped, jabbing my chest with his forefinger. "You turned your back on the world!"  
Ouch, okay that hurt.  
Kole came to my side, angry. "Don't yell at her! Odette would never turn her back on anyone!"  
The Old Man snorted. "Oh? She wouldn't, uh? Then I guess I must have imagined the last hundred years of war and suffering."  
As the Old Man made this damning pronouncement, the world warped around me, a visual testimonial to the sickening guilt welling up within me. Kole stepped in front of me as if to shield me from the words that cut into my soul so that he was between me and the Old Man.  
He was beyond irate.  
"Odette is the bravest person I know! She has done nothing but help people and save lives since I met her. It's not her fault she disappeared, right Odette? Odette? What's wrong?" he asked, his anger meling away as he looked at me.  
I had been backing up while Kole had been telling off the old man. When he was finished, I fled, opening my glider and taking off towards the mountains.  
"That's right! Keep flyin!" the man shouted after me as small tears slowly slid down my cheeks.  
I flew until the rain began to poor down in heavy sheets, making it nearly impossible to fly. Along the rocky cliffs far from the harbor, I found a cave in the rock face with an exposed parapet and a stone staircase leading up to it from the shoreline below. I quickly landed there and went to the very back to the cave, sitting with my back to the outside and taking a place in the deepest of shadows.  
I don't know how long I sat here. All I could think about was what the man had said, how right he had been. Thoughts of everything I had done wrong, everyone I had hurt, swirled through my mind like inky black poison, blocking out everything and shutting me off from the world.  
The sky is now black with storm clouds and it was pouring rain, intensifying with each passing moment.  
Suddenly there was a loud rustling noise behind me, back at the entrance of the cave. I didn't have to look to know it was Kole and Emrys. As he entered, I could hear the sounds of him wiping the water off his sleeves. He stood still, and I could feel his eyes on my back. I was sitting with my hands in my lap, looking downcast. I would not turn to look at Kole no matter what. If I did, he would surely see what a pathetic excuse for a human being I really was.  
"I'm sorry for running away," I said, my voice thick with emotion.  
"It's ok. That fisherman was way out of line," Kole said, and I had to smile slightly at the dark tone in his voice as he brought up that grouchy old man.  
I shook my head bitterly. "Actually, he wasn't."  
"What do you mean?"  
I sighed and hugged my knees closer to my chest. "I don't wanna talk about it."  
"It has to do with your dream, doesn't it?" he guessed and I winced.  
Kole walked over to me, kneeled by me and put a hand on my shoulder.  
He looked me right in the eyes and searched my face. "Talk to me," he said simply.  
I pulled a face at him and really hoped he would just drop it. "Well, it's kind of a long story."  
Suddenly, Fang ran back, yapping, and the sound of a huge animal was heard from behind me toward the cave entrance. Emrys's snout and feathered head appeared, nudging me. I glanced toward the cave entrance, which was now completely plugged with a sopping Emrys.  
Kole smiled and touched my cheek with his fingertips. "I'm gonna try to get a little fire going."  
I stroked Emrys's chin as Kole set to stoking a little cheery fire in between us, me on the left with Fang in my lap. When he was finished and sitting comfortably beside me, I began to speak.  
"I'll never forget the day the monks told me I was the Avatar," I began, gazing at the orange and red flames as my mind drifted off to a century ago, back when things had been so much easier.

(Flashback)  
I was back at the Southern Air Temple in its heyday. A stone plaza was populated with many young airbenders playing games, a flying eagle soared in the distance. I was playing with some other kids just outside the south wall and was trying to teach them how to do the air scooter.  
I was addressing a group of young airbenders. Most were my age or younger, one was taller and older. I demonstrated the air scooter move for them.  
"First, you form a ball. Then you gotta get on quick," I said.  
I made an air ball and sat on it fast, executing the trick perfectly. I laughed and began to move at terrific speed across the plaza. I went upside down in a nearby archway under a walking bridge, then climbed a wall and got up on to the bridge, coming back to the plaza by a nearby set of stairs. I exclaimed "yeh!" and "woohoo!" as I traveled. I looked over at the older boy, who readied his own attempt.  
"Okay! Here goes!" he said and he made a ball.  
"Quick, get on!" I cheered.  
"Wh, wh, whoaaaa!" He wobbled and was thrown. "Ugh!"  
I dismounted my own scooter. "You kinda have to balance on it like it's a top." I twirled my finger to demonstrate.  
"Man, that's hard," the older boy said, smiling at me in awe.  
A young boy ran over to me just then and tugged at my shoulder.  
"Where'd ya learn that trick, Odette?" he asked eagerly.  
I shrugged. "I made it up."  
The young boy started doing a goofy dance. "Wow!"  
Suddenly, there were five elderly airbender monks on the stones steps leading up to the bridge. Monk Athos was one of them.  
"Odette, come with us. We need to speak with you," he said.  
I obeyed with a look of trepidation on my face, the other kids looking at me strangely.  
Before I knew it I was in a chamber in the Air Temple where the five elder monks sat cross-legged and serene on five evenly spaced stools. The middle monk's stool rested under an ornate parasol; he was the abbot of the monastery. Monk Athos was the second from the left.  
I kneeled in front of them, head down, in complete shock of what they had just told me. I lifted my head to address them.  
"How do you know it's me?" I question, praying that what they had said was not true, that it was some mistake.  
"We have known you were the Avatar for some time. Do you remember these?"  
The fourth monk on the right who had just spoken revealed a rolled up package, which he airbent over to me. It landed at my feet and rolled open of its own accord. Inside were four children's toys. On the left was a little toy turtle. Second from the left was a propeller toy. Third from the left was a little monkey or donkey. The fourth was a rattle type object with yellow and red swirls on its face.  
I smiled at them. "Those were some of my favorite toys when I was little!"  
I picked up the propeller toy.  
"You chose them from among thousands of toys, Odette. The toys you picked were the four Avatar relics. These items belonged to Avatars past. Your own past lives," the same elder monk continued.  
I shook my head, my grey eyes bright wide with anxiety. "I just chose them because they seemed fun."  
I smiled and pulled the cord on the propeller toy, sending the propeller spinning into the air. It spun through the air and I looked at it, trying to prove my point.  
"You chose them because they were familiar," the monk responded.  
Monk Athos finally spoke up. "Normally we would have told you of your identity when you turned 18, but there are troubling signs, storm clouds are gathering."  
"I fear that war may be upon us, young Avatar," the abbot said.  
"We need you, Odette," Athos seconded…  
…Back in the present, I lowered my head, my responsibility crushing me. Kole looked on me with concern and sympathy, sympathy I did not deserve.

Ren:

After my confrontation with the bone headed lieutenant, I spent the next few hours fuming in my room, trying to regain hold of my temper. The fact that he actually had the nerve to speak to his prince like that confounded me. But what really made me so angry was that deep down, I knew he was right. Everything he had said had been true.  
After a while, I finally calmed down enough to realize that I was absolutely starving. I had missed dinner hours ago and my stomach growled loudly. I left my cabin and decided to head down to the kitchen to see what the cook had left for me. Outside, I could hear the storm raging and I felt a twinge of irritation. I hated being proved wrong.  
I made my way through the many halls before heading down the metal stair case that led down into the lounge. Through there I would have easy access to the kitchen. Only, the lieutenant and crewmen had beaten me there. I stopped short when I heard their sharp voices.  
"I'm sick of taking his orders and I'm tired of chasing his Avatar!" the lieutenant said as he was lowering a cup he had taken a drink from, his face bathed in firelight.  
My interest peaked. I had planned on just walking in there and ignoring the men. But now…I might as well stick around and see what they had to say, then I could punish them for whatever it was they'd been whining about. I took a seat on the upper part of the staircase, hiding so that I was just out of view but I could still see and hear the men clearly.  
The Lieutenant was sitting at a table and addressing a crewman on his left, making wide hand gestures to drive home his point.  
"I mean who does Ren think he is?" the lieutenant snapped, his voice laced with anger.  
"Do you really want to know?" my Uncle's voice suddenly said from somewhere. I felt my lips twitch into a small grin as my Uncle came into view. He would defend me and put these men in their place.  
The Lieutenant and the three other crewman at the fire barrel stood in respect.  
"General Ira! We were just –" he tried lamely and I smirked as he squirmed.  
Uncle walked over to them with a hand raised in acceptance. "It's ok. May I join you?"  
Lieutenant Jee nodded. "Of course, sir!"  
"Uncle approached and sat down with the men. He stroked his beard and began to speak.  
Try to understand, my nephew is a complicated young man. He has been through much…"  
What! This was not what I had wanted. Uncle had no right to speak to these men about my past. But as I listened to the story unravel, I couldn't help but let my mind water back to a time when things had been so much easier, so much happier…

(Flashback)  
My memory started with a vision of a younger me, a twelve year old me, without my trademark scar. My look of determination, however, had not changed. I walked down a hall to a pair of Fire Nation guards who blocked my attempt to enter the room beyond.  
"Let me in!" I said in a higher voice than I had now. Uncle appeared seemingly out of nowhere and put his hands on my shoulders.  
"Prince Ren, what's wrong?" he asked.  
"I want to go into the war chamber, but the guard won't let me pass!" I growled in annoyance. My voice broke slightly at the end. I was disappointed and I wasn't going to make any attempt at hiding it.  
Uncle led me a short distance away from the guards.  
"You're not missing anything, trust me. These meetings are dreadfully boring," he said with a comforting wink.  
I sighed and looked at him in pure determination. "If I'm gonna rule this nation one day, don't you think I need to start learning as much as I can?"  
Uncle studied me before smiling and shaking his head in amusement. "Very well. But you must promise not to speak. These old folks are a bit sensitive, you know."  
"Thank you uncle!" I said gratefully, bowing to him. By far, Uncle was my favorite person in this entire place.  
Uncle put his arm around my shoulders and walked me past the guards, who made no move to stop us. The war chamber was absolutely amazing. It was a temple like chamber, with a throne on a dais, wreathed in fire. The back wall was occupied by some sort of huge, ornately carved red statue. The war council was in session when we walked in and Uncle and I quickly took seats. Some of the men were surprised to see me there but no one questioned it when I took a seat proudly next to my uncle. Fire Nation generals sat around a map of the Earth Kingdom continent that adorned the floor. One of the generals on the left was standing to address the general staff.  
"The Earth Kingdom defenses are concentrated here," he said.  
I glanced up towards the throne, where the Fire Lord was watching the generals discuss the situation.  
"A dangerous battalion of their strongest earthbenders and fiercest warriors, so I am recommending the 41st division."  
"But the 41st is entirely new recruits. How do you expect them to defeat a powerful Earth Kingdom battalion?" an old general said.  
"I don't. They'll be used as a distraction while we mount an attack from the rear. What better to use as bait then fresh meat?" the first general said coldly, ice in his words.  
My blood boiled at that and I jumped to my feat, startling a few people.  
"You can't sacrifice an entire division like that! Those soldiers love and defend our nation! How can you betray them?" I cried out without thinking, voicing my horror at this horrible plan.  
The generals looked back to me, clearly disapproving of my outburst…  
…I came back to the present as my Uncle's warm voice cut into my reverie.  
"Ren was right, you see, but it was not his place to speak out, and there were...dire consequences."  
I looked over at my Uncle and the crewmen around the table. Uncle lowered his head in sadness at the memory.  
"After Ren's outburst in the meeting, the Fire Lord became very angry with him. He said that Prince Ren's challenge of the general was an act of complete disrespect, and there was only one way to resolve this…"  
"Agni kai. A fire duel," Lieutenant Jee said, horrified.  
Uncle nodded solemnly. "That's right. Ren looked upon the old general he had insulted and declared that he was not afraid. But Ren misunderstood. When he turned to face his opponent, he was surprised to see it was not the General. Ren had spoken out against a general's plan, but by doing so in the Fire Lord's war room, it was the Fire Lord whom he had disrespected. Ren would have to duel his own father."  
I remembered that day with hatred in my heart. I remembered being in a rectangular arena with a large crowd on either side of me. I'd dropped my ceremonial cloak to the floor, exposing my bare chest. I'd turned to face my opponent, and, upon recognizing him, frozen in horror.  
"When Prince Ren saw that it was his father who had come to duel him, he begged for mercy…" Uncle said…  
…"Please, father, I only had the fire nation's best interest at heart! I'm sorry I spoke out of turn!" I'd pleaded with him, kneeling down submissively.  
"You will fight for your honor," he'd said coldly.  
Stricken, I'd abased myself on the floor. "I meant you no disrespect. I am your loyal son."  
"Rise and fight, Prince Ren!" he'd yelled.  
"I won't fight you," I'd said stubbornly.  
"You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher," he'd said, his heartless eyes ablaze.  
The Fire Lord had now stood a few feet from me, and I'd risen my tear filled face to my father. I'd glanced over at of some spectators. They had all been familiar. Many had been generals from the war council. The three in the foreground were a grinning Admiral Drake - then Captain -, Uncle, looking fearful for me, and a cruel looking young girl in a soldier's uniform who had clearly hopped for the worst to befall me. This had been Alirah, my sister. She'd raised her left fist in anticipation of the disgrace I'd been undergoing.  
I'd turned back to my father just as a blinding burst of light had filled my vision. Then, I'd become aware of nothing but the pain…  
…"I looked away," Uncle said, bringing me back out of my memories once more.  
"I always thought that Prince Ren was in a training accident…" Lieutenant Jee said, abashed.  
Uncle shook his head. "It was no accident. After the duel, the Fire Lord said that by refusing to fight, Ren had shown shameful weakness. As punishment he was banished and sent to capture the Avatar. Only then could he return with his honor."  
Lieutenant Jee nodded. "So that's why he's so obsessed. Capturing the Avatar is the only chance he has of things returning to normal."  
Uncle gave him a hard look. "Things will never return to normal. But the important thing is, the Avatar gives Ren hope."  
At that moment, two pictures that had been taken with my family came to mind. One, was of two young children running across the crest of a hillside, an older man, our father, followed behind. The colors were drab, but we looked happy. The other was a close of a young boy, me, standing on that same hillcrest with my father next to me. My father's hand was on my shoulder…  
I turned sharply as a lightning strike was heard.  
Something was wrong.

Odette:

"So you were upset that you were the Avatar? Why wouldn't you be excited about it?" Kole asked softly. We were still sitting around the fire as the storm raged on outside.  
"Well, I didn't know how to feel about it. All I knew is that after I found out, everything began changing…" I explained as another memory plagued my thoughts.

(Flashback)  
The plaza near the south wall of the Southern Air Temple was full of young airbenders riding on air scooters, laughing, and having fun.  
"Hey, not bad! You guys have been practicing!" I said proudly.  
A young boy scooted around me. "Not only that, we made up a game you can play with the air scooters!"  
I smiled excitedly. "Great!"  
I made my own air scooter, but the young boy looked confused and a bit alarmed. He stopped his scooter as did the other young airbenders.  
"What's going on?" I asked, dismayed  
"Now that you're the Avatar, it's kind of an unfair advantage for whichever team you're on," the older boy said, unhappy, but without malice  
"But I'm still the same – nothing's changed. So, what, I can't play?" I said, trying to smile.  
The older boy shrugged. "That's the only fair way."  
I dismounted my scooter, disappointed. "Oh, ok."  
The young boy waved sadly. "Sorry, Odette."  
The young airbenders looked upon me as I retreated from them, sadness in their eyes. The older boy turned to address them.  
"Okay, now who wants to have Jinju on their team?"  
Later that day since I had nothing better to do, Athos and I were busy playing Pai Sho. I absentmidndely moved a token on the board, too sad and distracted to really play.  
"Very interesting move, young one," Athos commented.  
I frowned, staring at the bored n confusion. "What do you mean?"  
Suddenly, a small gust of wind blew my hood up over my face, giving the old monk time to switch a few pieces before I could remove the hood and get my long hair out of my eyes.  
I pointed at the board. "Hey!"  
Both of us began to laugh. The door opened suddenly to reveal one of the other monk elders, in fact the one who had been sitting fourth from the right.  
"You're playing games with her? The Avatar should be training," he growled.  
Monk Athos shook his head. "Odette has already trained enough for today."  
"Time is short. Come with me. I must test you on some high level techniques," the monk said, coming and yanking me to my feet.  
I got up and began to follow the Elder out of the room. Monk Athos then raised his hand in a gesture of cessation, making me stop.  
"No, as long as I am her guardian, I will decide when she trains and when she gets her butt kicked at Pai Sho," Athos said sternly.  
"Huh!" the elder growled, clearly angry.  
The Elder Monk stalked off as I turned to smile at Monk Athos.  
The next day I couldn't find Athos anywhere. Rumor was that he was in a serious meeting with the elders, so I decided to sneak over and climb up onto the roof of the temple. There, I could easily see into the room due to a huge crack in the roof.  
In the temple, I found Monk Athos and the fourth Elder Monk standing in front of the monk who sat on the middle stool under the parasol, the abbot.  
"Odette needs to have freedom and fun. She needs to grow up as a normal girl," Athos was arguing.  
"Humph! You cannot keep protecting her from her destiny," the fourth elder monk snapped.  
"Athos, I know you mean well, but you are letting your affection for the girl cloud your judgment," the abbot said.  
Monk Athos shook his head. "All I want is what is best for her."  
The abbot sighed. "But what we need is what's best for the world." He looked down for a moment before raising his head to continue. "You and Odette must be separated. The Avatar will be sent away to the Eastern Air Temple to complete her training."  
Monk Athos bowed as my eyes flew wide with alarm.

Kole:

I watched her with concern. Her beautiful blue and grey eyes, the same color as Fang's own grey wolf eyes, were hollow and bleak. Her long flowing, dark brown hair clung to her pretty face, wet from the rain she'd flown through.  
"That's awful, Odette. I don't know what to say," I admitted helplessly. And I wanted to help her, more than anything else in the world. She was the most important thing to me now in the world aside from Alana.  
I tried to put my hand on her shoulder, needing to comfort her, but she got up, angry.  
"How could they do that to me! They wanted to take away everything I knew and everyone I loved!" she yelled.  
Odette's avatar spirit began to activate, the arrow tattoos on her body beginning to glow and an energy shell beginning to form around her. She shut it down however as I cried out in surprise as cinders from the fire swirled around me.  
"Whoa! Hot cinders!" I said as I swatted them away.  
I watched her carefully as her glow faded. "I'm sorry I got so mad."  
I shook my head. "You have a right to be angry after the monks sent you away like that."  
"Well, that's not exactly what happened…" she said and looked downcast and guilty and I looked at her, confused.  
"I was afraid and confused. I didn't know what to do…I never saw Athos again," she said ominously, not going into detail like she had before.  
She sighed and turned back to me, her normally bright eyes dark with her sadness. "Next thing I knew, I was waking up in your arms after you found me in the iceberg."  
"You ran away," I concluded, not needing her to go any farther.  
She looked up at me. "And then the Fire Nation attacked our temple. My people needed me and I wasn't there to help."  
"You don't know what would've –" I tried but she cut me off.  
"The world needed me and I wasn't there to help," she snapped, tears springing to her eyes.  
"Odette...hey. Odette," I said, getting up as tears started to roll out of her eyes. I grabbed her and pulled her to me, crushing her slender form against my chest. I buried my face in her hair - easy to do since we were basically the same height. She sobbed into my shoulder and I ran my fingers through her hair, trying to calm her down.  
"The fisherman was right! I did turn my back on the world," she cried.  
"You're being too hard on yourself. Even if you did run away, I think it was meant to be. If you had stayed you would have been killed along with all the other air benders," I murmured, my lips right at her ear.  
"You don't know that," she whispered.  
"I know it's meant to be this way. The world needs you now. You give people hope," I said, pulling away slightly to look at her.  
Odette slowly smiled, raising her head to look at me, an expression of hope spreading across her face. As I stared into her eyes I began to realize something. I wanted her. I wanted her to be with me. I wanted to be the one she always turned to when she needed someone. And most of all, I wanted her to feel the same way about me.  
It had started since the moment I first saw her. From the first glance she'd had me hooked. And the more time I spent with her the deeper my feelings grew. I'd fallen totally and completely in love wither her, and there was no going back now.  
Even though I was scared out of my mind that she would reject me, I knew that this was my chance to make her see just how she made me feel. I set my jaw, cupped her soft face, and leaned towards her.

Odette:

He was going to kiss me.  
My mind went into sheer panic mode as his expression changed and he leaned closer. What was he doing? And since when did he ever like me that way? All I knew was that…I didn't want him to kiss me. He was my best friend for heaven sake's! If he kissed me now it would just ruin everything. I didn't feel that way about him, not even a little. I did love him in a way, but more like he was my brother. I felt the same way about Alana too. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt him, but I wasn't going to be with him like that just to keep him happy.  
But the real problem I had with this wasn't that he was my best friend or that I didn't feel that way about him. It was because someone else popped into my head, his name screaming at me and bouncing off the walls of my brain.  
Ren!  
It was in that moment that I realized it wasn't Kole who I wished would be the one to kiss me. It was him, the one who was hell bent on capturing me. Or killing me. How sad was that?  
Kole's lips were just about to touch mine when I was saved.  
"Help! Oh, please help!" the old woman from earlier cried out, stumbling into the cave, sopping wet. I jerked out of Kole's hold on me, stumbling away a bit and breathing a deep sigh of relief.  
Kole stared at me for a moment, obviously disappointed but rushed to the woman's side. "It's ok, you're safe."  
Both of them walked back to the fire deeper in the cave.  
"But, my husband isn't," the woman said.  
I frowned, my thoughs immediately going to Alana.  
Kole was obviously thinking the same thing because his gaze darkened. "What do you mean? Where's Alana?"  
The Old Woman shook her head. "They haven't returned. They should've been back by now, and this storm is becoming a typhoon. They're caught out at sea."  
I stood, resolute. 'I'm going to find them."  
Kole jumped up with me. "I'm going with you."  
I gave him a look, a little uncomfortable after what had just happened but didn't say anything.  
The Old Woman huffed. "I'm staying here!"  
Emrys's snout was sticking out of the cave; she was ready to take off. Kole got into the saddle while I got into my normal spot. I turned to the old woman.  
"We'll be back soon, I promise," I told her sincerely, urging her not to worry.

Ren:  
As the ship battled the ferocious waves, the Lieutenant and I struggled to stay upright on the ship's main deck. Water drenched us and the deck repeatedly.  
"Where were we hit?" I yelled over the howling wind.  
Lieutenant Jee shook his head, his eyes wide with alarm. "I don't know!"  
Uncle came up beside me. "Look!"  
He pointed up to the bridge tower. A crewman was hanging off some of the rigging.  
"The helmsman!" I yelled, making fro him immediately.  
I climbed the external ladder up to the bridge area, the Lieutenant behind me. Just when I almost reached him, the helmsman finally let go with a cry. He fell for a moment, but the lieutenant caugh him. The only problem with that was that his hand slipped from the rain slicked railing. Without missing a beat, my hand shot out, capturing his before he fell. He smiled at me gratefully and I nodded before we carefully continued or decent to safety.

Odette:

"Where are they?" Kole yelled at me as the rain pelted us. My hair was clinging to my face and neck uncomfortably as the wind and rain lashed it about my face.  
"Come on, Emrys!" I called, urging her to go faster.  
I saw a massive wall of water up ahead. It towered above us and even though I tired, Emrys couldn't pull up in time, but we bust through its crest with a combination of Emrys's strength and me using my staff like a helicopter blade to part the water. In the distance we saw a small boat, silhouetted by lighting strikes.  
I pointed to the horizon. "The boat! It's there!"

Ren:

I looked up, not believing my eyes as that damn dragon flew through the clouds. I could easily see the girl two, her slight form leaned forward as she fought against the strong winds. I could also make out that oaf riding in the saddle. I didn't know what it was about him but I did not like him one bit.  
"The Avatar!" I said, staring after the girl desperately.  
Lieutenant Jee looked at me, understanding in his eyes. "What do you want to do, sir?"  
I paused to consider. I wanted her, I wanted her more than anything. But…  
"Let her go. We need to get this ship to safety," I said, pain stabbing me as I said that. I was never going to let that girl go. Not by a long shot, even if it killed me in the end.  
Uncle nodded his approval. "Then we must head directly into the eye of the storm."  
He smiled slightly as the crew looked out over the bow. But my eyes, stayed traine don the girl until she disappeared from my sight.

Odette:

As we drew closer, I could see Alana and the old man struggling to pilot the fishing boat.  
"I'm too young to die!" she yelled.  
"I'm not, but I still don't wanna!" the old man seconded.  
The fishing boat struggled against the waves. Emrys flew in close and I jumped onto the boat. Lighting struck the main mast which broke off. It was about to hit me, but I split it in two, the halves falling harmlessly on either side of me. Alana had a rope in her hands, which I grabbed.  
"Hang on to the rope!" I told them.  
I airbent myself back onto Emrys, pulling Alana and the old man with me. We landed on Emrys as well, the old man spitting out some water and smiled sheepishly. Behind us a shadow appeared and the sound of rushing water was heard. I spun to see a wave building behind us much larger than even the one before. Emrys tried to escape, but the wave was too fast. We were submerged.  
I drifted away from Emrys and my friends in the water. My avatar spirit activated, but, instead of creating an iceberg, I surrounded myself and my friends with a ball of energy and raised them back up out of the water and into the sky.

Ren:

I breathed a sigh of relief as we finally reached the eye of the storm, which we could see above us. The wind had died down and it was only drizzling.  
I turned to my uncle, feeling a small stab of guilt. "Uncle, I am sorry."  
Uncle smiled, and put a hand on my shoulder. "Your apology is accepted."  
Suddenly, a bubble of energy erupted from the sea in boiling blue mass in front of the prow of my ship and rocketed into the air. I blinked in surprise as I recognized their girl at the center of the thing, her thick brown hair swirling around her glowing eyes. She was captivating. She looked elegant, firerce, scary, powerful, and beautiful all at the same time.  
As the energy bubble burst, the dragon shot up into the sky carrying the group in her saddle. As it receded up into the eye, the girl turned to look me straight in the eye. The glow had faded from her eyes and as she flew away. I noticed that they were grey…like a wolf's eyes might be. Her long hair swirled around those eyes and her pretty face, creating a mesmerizing effect, before she turned away and disappeared over the rim.  
I would have her. No matter what it took, she would be mine.

Odette:

His face was still burned into my mind when we got back to the cave. Emrys was now standing out in the drizzle on the parapet outside the cave where I had told Kole my story. The old man and I were at the cave entrance, the old woman running to us to embrace her husband.  
"Oh, you're alive!" she said in relief. Her voice turned sour and pointed to me. "You owe this girl an apology."  
I smiled and shook my head. "He doesn't have to apologize."  
"Mmm, uh, what if instead of an apology I give her a free fish and we call it even?" the man bargined.  
"Actually, I don't eat meat," I told him sincerely.  
"Fish ain't meat," the man grumbled.  
Alana held out her hand. "Seriously, you're still gonna pay me, right?"  
The old man dropped a fish into her outstretched hand with a wet smacking sound. Alana made a frightened sound.  
I turned to Kole. "Kole, I think you were right before. I'm done dwelling on the past."  
"Really?" he asked and turned to me in surprise.  
I nodded. "I can't make guesses about how things would have turned out if I hadn't run away. I'm here now and I'm going to make the most of it.  
Kole smiled warmly. "I don't think you're gonna have those nightmares anymore."  
The Old Man came over and put his hand on my shoulder. "Uh, if you weren't here now, well, I guess I wouldn't be either. Thank you for saving my life, Avatar."  
"Do you hear that? It's stopped raining," Alana said, looking at the cave entrance.  
Outside, the sun was starting to break through. We all walked out onto the parapet where Emrys was standing. Emrys shook herself off, drenching everyone.  
"Emrys!" we all cried out in annoyance.


	14. Chapter 13: The Blue Spirit

Ren:

It was night.  
I was at a fire nation fortress, spying on Drake as he bantered with colonel there. I was dressed head to toe in black clothing and wore an old blue mask that had been used in a play once to hide my face. My dual swords were strapped around my shoulder and were resting at the ready on my back. I was sitting atop a tower, listening to Drake and the colonel who were directly under me.  
A few days ago, my scout had tipped me off that Drake was here, in the same area we happened to be docked at while our ship was being repaired after the storm. There was a rumor swirling around that he was here to get supplies to capture the Avatar. It was the perfect opportunity and I planned on using him to my advantage. If he somehow managed to get the girl here, it certainly would be no problem breaking her out. Drake was arrogant, and once he had the girl, he would be too busy gloating to pay close attention to her.  
A red hawk like dragon flew through the moonless night sky and cried out. I was in the upper reaches of the fortress. Around me, there were several towers connected by the walls of the fortress. All were manned and had fires burning in them. Fire Nation ships were in the water beyond the fortress.  
I watched closely as several fierce looking archers came into view, their faces painted either for decoration, camouflage or both. They released volley after volley of arrows which struck their archery range targets dead center. Successive arrows split the one already occupying the bulls eye right down the middle of its shaft.  
I quirked my eyebrow in surprised, impressed by their accuracy.  
As the archers kept firing, I turned my attention back to the two men below me. They stood side by side, watching the archers.  
"Absolutely not. The Yu Yan archers stay here. Your request is denied Commander Drake," Colonel Shinu said in a stern, deep set voice.  
Drake was growing frustrated. He had been arguing with the man for over ten minutes now and, not used to being denied, he was becoming very irate. "Colonel Shinu, please reconsider. Their precision is legendary. The Yu Yan can pin a fly to a tree from a hundred yards away – without killing it. You're wasting their talents using them as mere security guards."  
Colonel Shinu glared in irritation. "I can do whatever I want with their talents. They're my archers and what I say goes."  
"But my search for the Avatar is –"  
"– Is nothing but a vanity project! We're fighting a real war here and I need every man I've got, Commander." the colonel snapped.  
"But –"  
"That's final! I don't want to hear another word about it."  
Oh this was rich. I wish this moment could go on forever. Nothing was better than seeing Drake silenced. But of course with my luck, my amusement was short lived.  
Drake grumbled as the red dragon I had seen earlier swooped down into the tower. It landed on Colonel Shinu's outstretched arm. He untied a message from its back and it flew away. The Colonel quickly read the message, Drake behind him. The Colonel's expression turned to horror as he read the message. Drake approached from behind and he handed the message to Drake.  
"News from Fire Lord Mordred?" He read through it before a nasty smug smile stretched across his foul face. "It appears I've been promoted to Admiral. My request is now an order."  
Oh perfect. Now I'm screwed.  
Colonel Shinu bowed and exited. The archers fired again at their targets as Drake looked over the railing of the tower at the archers.  
Now that I knew what he was up to, I decided I should leave before I got caught snooping, and I disappeared back into the night.

Odette:

I looked out at the hillside strewn with broken boulders. The dawn was approaching, but the sky was cloudy so it was still quite dark. Below were the remnants of a decaying ghost town. A cough sounded behind me and I turned to see Alana in her sleeping bag, resting on Emrys. I walked over to where Kole was standing and stopped next to him. We stood there in silence for a moment, facing Alana. A fire burned behind us, crackling warmly. We were inside an enclosed temple like structure overlooking the decaying town below and the hillside beyond.  
Alana started coughing again and Fang was playing around her head. Kole stepped forward and started wiping her forehead with a wet cloth.  
"This should bring your fever down," he said, leaning away.  
"You know what I love about Emrys the most? Her sense of humor," Alana said feverishly and I shook my head, smiling.  
Kole laughed. "That's nice. I'll tell her."  
Emrys grunted at Alana in response.  
"Haha! Classic Emrys," she cried.  
I walked over. "How's Alana doing?"  
Kole shrugged. "Not so good. Being out in that storm really did a number on her."  
I sighed as Alana shivered in her sleeping bag and snorted back her runny nose.  
"I couldn't find any ginger root for the tea, but I found a map," I said.  
I produced a scroll and spread it out on the ground.  
"There's an herbalist institute on the top of that mountain. We could probably find a cure for Alana there," I said, pointing it out to him.  
Kole didn't take his eyes off me the entire time I talked. I tried to ignore it but it was hard to hide how uncomfortable he was making me. I had tired to forget what had happened in the cave but he was making it increasingly difficult. Luckily though he hadn't tried to kiss me again.  
"Odette, she's in no condition to travel. Alana just needs more rest. I'm sure she'll be better by tomorrow," he said, patting my shoulder.  
Kole began to cough at this.  
I groaned. "Not you too!"  
Kole smiled and waved his hand at me. "Relax, it was just a little cough. I'm fine –"  
He cut himself off with more coughing and I shielded myself from his violent coughing.  
I gave him a stern look. "That's how Alana started yesterday. Now look at her – she thinks she's an earthbender!"  
Alana was swinging at something that wasn't there. "Take that, you rock!"  
I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. "A few more hours and you'll be talking nonsense too. I'm going to find some medicine," I said, getting up and grabbing my staff.  
I opened my glider and walked to the edge of the temple. A huge flash of lightning illuminated the exterior of the temple. I twirled my glider shut and leaned it against the wall of the temple.  
"Uh, maybe it's safer if I go on foot. Keep an eye on'em guys," I said to Fang and Emrys and the big dragon grunted in reply.  
"Haha! You guys are killin' me!" Alana said deliriously.  
I turned and launched myself into the air, landing far down the hill the temple sat on. As soon as my feet touched the ground, I took off, racing through the decayed town. I zoomed by at high speed, using my airbending to accelerate my running speed.

Ren:

My ship steamed through water at a lazy pace. I was buying time, floating around idly until Drake captured the Avatar. When he did that, I would make my move.  
I was standing over my Lieutenant's shoulder as we both looked at a map.  
Lieutenant Jee shook his head in frustration. "We haven't been able to pick up the Avatar's trail since the storm."  
The position of the Lieutenant's hand and extended index finger indicated that we were currently at the northwest extremity of the Earth Kingdom, close to the eastern most extremity of the northern air nomad lands.  
"But, if we continue heading northeast –" he continued, dragging his finger along the map.  
The Lieutenant was cut off as the light was suddenly blocked by an enormous shadow. I glanced over at Uncle and some crewman who were busy playing Pai Sho on the right of us. Just behind them in the water, another Fire Navy ship, a massive hulking thing, was passing us to starboard, headed the opposite direction. Everyone on my bridge stared at it.  
"What do they want?" I growled darkly.  
"Perhaps a sporting game of Pai Sho!" Uncle said hopefully.

* * * *

My ship rested alongside the much larger, double-smoke stack Fire Nation vessel. I watched, my anger broiling inside of me, as a scroll unrolled to reveal a drawn figure of the girl and some writing in calligraphy. I glared furiously at the herald who was holding up the wanted poster. I stood in front of him, looking sour.  
"The hunt for the Avatar has been given prime importance," the little weasel of a herald said. He lowered the scroll. "All information regarding the Avatar must be reported directly to Admiral Drake."  
Uncle made a move on the Pai Sho board as he spoke. "Drake has been promoted? Well, good for him!"  
Uncle's opponent looked chagrined at the move and slapped his face. I rolled my eyes at them, my patients reaching it's breaking point.  
"I've got nothing to report to Drake. Now get off my ship and let us pass," I said sullenly.  
"Admiral Drake is not allowing ships in or out of this area," the herald said stubbornly, sticking his fat nose in the air.  
"Off my ship!" I seethed, resisting the urge to punch him as hard as I could in the face.  
Uncle smiled as the herald and his two guards behind him left.  
"Excellent!" Uncle said and leaned forward and gathered all the chips on the table. "I take the pot. But, you're all improving. I'm certain you will win if we play again?"  
As I tried to regain hold of my temper - something I had been getting surprisingly better at - I looked out over the waves as Uncle and the men began another game behind me.  
Well, that had been rather convenient. Since I couldn't leave that made my life a lot simple. But Drake becoming admiral? Now that made my life a lot harder, which was saying something. With Drake's resources he would beat me to the girl by a long shot. But I had my own resources, and I intended to use every one of them to get what I wanted. Drake was not going to win this time.  
I sighed as I began to plot, knowing that every second was a race against the clock.

Odette:

I was on a mountain path, the world blurring around me. The rush of wind and dust is tremendous as it flew out behind me. I ran for what I guessed to be another hour and a half of nonstop running before I reached a small meadow with a building at the crest of it.  
Huffing and puffing, I ran at a breakneck speed up the steps on what looked like a herbalist institute. I reached the top and ran into a circular wooden building. The inside of the building was filled with trees, bushes and flowers. An old woman was there and a white fluffy cat was sitting on a wooden table. I ran over, grateful that I had finally found someone. As I seemingly appeared out of thin air next to the woman, the cat meowed and jumped out of the way in surprise.  
"Hello! I'm sorry to barge in like this, but I need some medicine for my friends. They have fevers and they've been coughing and –" I said, speaking very fast as I tried to hurry.  
The herbalist was mixing something in a bowl on the table in front of her.  
"Settle down, young man. Your friends are going to be fine," she said as she walked over to another table where the cat was sitting. "I've been up here for over forty years you know, used to be others, but they all left years ago. Now it's just me and Miyuki." She started to pet the cat and I purred loudly.  
"That's nice," I said, bored with her chattering.  
"Wounded Earth Kingdom troops still come by now and again, brave boys, and thanks to my remedies they always leave in better shape they when they arrive," the herbalist continued, not noticing my axious foot tapping or my annoyed expression.  
"That's nice. Are you almost done?" I asked.  
The herbalist ignored me. "Hold on, I just need to add one last ingredient."  
She started walking amongst the shrubbery, looking around and muttering to herself. "Oh, sandalwood...oh, er, uh, that won't do, banana leaf? Ah, nope, uh, ginger root, uh uh, oh where is that pesky little plant?"  
I looked at her, exasperated.

Ren:

The ship steamed by the shore, the sunset in its last stages. I was practicing firebending on the foredeck, letting all of my anger and frustration out with every flame. I became centered, mindless as I executed move after move perfectly, the fire flying from my hands. When I was like this, everything became clear and simple and I knew what I needed to do.  
"Is everything okay? It's been almost an hour and you haven't given the men an order," Uncle said from behind me, breaking me out of my trance.  
"I don't care what they do," I said, stopping my bending. I looked away out to sea.  
Uncle came over, smiling comfortingly. "Don't give up hope yet. You can still find the Avatar before Drake."  
I turned back, desperation and fear on my face. "How, Uncle? With Drake's resources it's just a matter of time before he captures the Avatar." My hope dwindling, I turned back out to sea and whispered. "My honor, my throne, my country, I'm about to lose them all."

* * * *

Odette:

I was ready to slam my head against a wall as the old woman examined some bushes.  
"Here's what I was looking for! Plum blossom!" she said victoriously.  
She grabbed one then headed back to over where I was. My head was on the table were Miyuki sat. I got up in relief.  
"Finally!" I sighed.  
I grabbed the bowl from the woman's hands. "Thanks for all your help!"  
The herbalist surprised me by hitting me on the wrist and knocking loose my grip on the bowl. "Hands off! What do you think you're doing?"  
I looked at her, frightened and abashed. "Taking the cure to my friends!"  
"Ahaha! This isn't a cure, it's Miyuki's dinner," the herbalist said, laughing.  
The Herbalist placed the bowl on the table in front of Miyuki. She pet the cat who began to eat and purr.  
"Plum blossom is her favorite," she said.  
"What about my friends?" I asked in confusion.  
"Well, all they need is some frozen wood frogs. There's plenty of them down in the valley swamp," she said, giving me a weird look.  
"What am I supposed to do with frozen frogs?" I asked, confused again.  
"Why, suck on them of course!" she said, exasperated.  
"Suck on them!?" I repeated, shocked.  
The Herbalist laughed. "The frog's skin excretes a substance that'll cure your friends, but make sure you get plenty. Once those little critters thaw out, they're useless!"  
I simply stared at her as a few moments passed in silence.  
"You're insane aren't you?" I asked after a while.  
"Thaaat's right." She turned back to her work, then turned back to me. "Well, don't stand there all day." She whipped her spoon at me, and I ended up with a bunch of black gunk on my face. "Go!"  
I ran out of the building, wiping my face. Suddenly arrows flew through the air at me. Two landed to my immediate right and left.  
As I looked around, I realized I was standing in the middle of the wide field I had crossed earlier. Above, a huge number of arrows arched toward me. I airbent a shell of wind around me knocking all the arrows aside. I pulled one of the arrows out of the ground and offered it to whoever was shooting them.  
"Uhh, I think you dropped this," I called out.  
My eyes narrowed as I saw multiple archers in the surrounding trees, a look of malice on their dark faces. My eyes widened in fear.  
I started struggling to pull an arrow out of the ground that was holding my foot in place. I released it just in time as the archers fired another volley. I ran out of the way as two groups of four arrows each plowed into the ground near me as I ran. I ran towards the gate I entered through, but it was blocked by archers. They fired, but I dodged and ran in the opposite direction. Dodging hails of arrows, I jumped off the cliff at the back of the institute. Up above, the archers jumped off after me.  
I fell with the cliff face on my left. I let my hood billow a bit to slow me down until I hit the tree canopy beneath. My face got beaten repeatedly by the brush rapidly flying by. The archers fired in mid flight, sending anchor ropes into the nearby trees as they fell so they could swing tarzan-like after me. I was quickly pursued from tree branch to tree branch by the archers who stayed close behind. Eventually I came out of the forest and into the swamp. I landed in the water and emerged with a white, frozen frog curled in my hand.  
"A frog!" I gasped.  
The frog was knocked out of my hand by an arrow. I stood up and tried to run through the water, looking for frogs along the way. Arrows fell all around. I got to a log rising out of the water, and an arrow pinned my right arm to it. It was soon joined by several more. The archers fired another volley, but I waterbent a wall of ice in front of me. The arrows shattered the ice easily. They fired another volley, pinning my left arm, followed by a net that covered my upper body.  
My eyes widened in terror as the archers approached me. They whispered quietly to each other for a moment before one approached me, a sneer on his lips.  
"Please-"  
What ever plea I had was cut off as his fist connected with my jaw, knocking me out cold and sending me into a world of black.

When I came to, my jaw hurt like crazy and I had a massive headache. I was being held up by my upper body, my arms stretched out and my face turned downcast as I remembered what had happened to me. The only question that I had was who had finally been able to capture me.  
The room was dark, but there was fire in the room that shed some illumination. I raised my eyes in defiance as I looked around. I was a prisoner in a large room with two stone pillars that had fires on their crests. I was shackled to them from my arms.  
I started to struggle violently against my bonds. The door opened suddenly and I looked up, a tremor of fear slithering down my spine. My eyes narrowed furiously as Drake walked into the room towards me, hands behind his back.  
"So this is the great Avatar? Master of all the elements. I don't know how you've managed to elude the Fire Nation for a hundred years, but your little game of hide and seek is over," he said tauntingly.  
"I've never hidden from you. Untie me and I'll fight you right now!" I snarled.  
"Uhh, no. Tell me, how does it feel to be the only airbender left?" he asked, putting his face up to mine. "Do you miss your people?"  
My look of defiance melted and I dropped my head, sadness stabbing at me.  
"Oh, don't worry, you won't be killed like they were," he said comfortingly and I looked up again in anger. "See, if you die you'll just be reborn and the Fire Nation will have to being its search for the Avatar all over again. So, I'll keep you alive – but just barely."  
"I will end you!" I hissed ferociously, straining against the chains.  
"Such a pretty face," he sighed and walked up to me, examining me from head to toe with my eyes. He reached forward and brushed his fingertips along my cheekbone, tracing the cuts that I had received from my fall. I glared at him darkly and he only grinned. "Too bad Ren will never get to see it again…"  
I balked at that. What!  
Drake turned to leave, still smirking. Furious, I blew a gale force wind, knocking Drake into the wall where he collapsed in a heap. I smiled smugly as he shook his head to clear his vision and stood up.  
"Blow all the wind you want! Your situation is futile. There is no escaping this fortress – and no one is coming to rescue you," he growled.  
Drake left me with that, the door slamming behind him.

Ren:

This was it. It was now or never.  
I was currently bumping along down a road leading to the fortress, clinging to the underside of a wagon that was making its way toward the gate. My heart was ready to beat out of my chest with anxiety as the wagon finally reached the gate. I had been clinging to the thing for a least half an hour now and my arms were starting to kill me.  
"All clear," a guard said.  
A gate guard looked at the wagon and walked around it. While he was looking in the opposite direction, I swung out from the undercarriage and quickly jumped into the back of the wagon. The guard checked the undercarriage with out any problems. The guard got back up and waved the driver on.  
"All clear. Go on in."  
I inhaled as the wagon entered the first of the fortress' three gates. I looked up at the massive central tower where I knew the girl was being held prisoner in. When we reached the first courtyard where the boxes in the wagon were to be unloaded. Without missing a beat, I ran from the wagon and ducked into the shadows. I made for an ornate balcony with bonfire pots on either side. The balcony was festooned with gold and red spades. Admiral Drake appeared in ceremonial dress flanked by attendants. The innermost courtyard was full of fire nation soldiers standing at attention.  
Disgusting.  
"We are the sons and daughters of fire! The superior element! Until today, only one thing stood in our path to victory. The Avatar! I am here to tell you that she is now my prisoner!" The soldier's cheered three times. "This is the year Ezra's comet returns to grant us its power!" Another cheer was heard. "This is the year the Fire Nation breaks through the walls of Eralith and burns the city to the ground!"  
As Drake spoke, I steadily and stealthily infiltrated the fortress, going completely unnoticed. Once I was past Drake, I made my way though the fortress itself. There was no one in the halls, so I passed through without confrentation and found my way to the central tower.  
Just as I got there, a guard came waltzing around the corner. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw me and I grinned nastily. Without wasting a second, I reached forward and jerked him into my arms, clamping a hand over his mouth as I knocked him unconscious, slamming his head into the wall. I fastened a rope around him, tossed the other end through a ceiling support and pulled him up before tying it off, letting him dangle above the floor.  
I picked up his fallen helmet and tossed it around the corner, letting it clatter to the floor noisily.  
One of the guard walked up the corridor and turned right at the first junction were I was lying in wait, disappearing from the view of the other guards.  
He shot off a gout of flame that erupted out into the hallway and I reached forward, grabbing his head and slamming my knee up into it and letting his body slump to the floor. Knowing there were more coming, I jumped up, using the man I had left dangling to haul myself up onto the ceiling with him and crawled a little ways away so I could maintain the element of surprise.  
Two more guards came up to the junction, firebending stances at the ready. They looked down the cross hallway. The first guard who went was still hanging from the ceiling, tied up. The two soldiers continued looking up until their gaze landed on my where I was handing on the ceiling above the two new combatants. I dropped down and melee began, but it was over quickly.  
When I had dealt with them, I simply walked around the corner to face that last guard. The lone guard grabbed the alarm horn next to me, but a knife throw from me knocked it out of his hand. The guard let loose a gout of flame at me as I ran down the hall toward the door, but I extinguished the blast with a bag of water I had brought along with me. I then swept the guards feet out from under him with my arm and slammed my fist into his face, quickly disposing of him.  
Excitement prickling through my body, I turned the lock in the door. The door opened and I entered, brandishing my two curved swords and ran forward to Odette, who screamed at me in fear. As I drew closer, she squeezed her pretty grey eyes shut and turned her face away, still screaming.  
I lifted the swords above my head and brought them down hard, cutting through the chains that she was shackled to easily. I waited patiently as she froze for a few moments before she opened her eyes.  
She pulled her arms back in surprise, seeing that I had freed her. She looked at me in wonder, a small smile spreading over her soft looking lips. I had never seen her look at me like that before - all the other times her eyes had fallen of me they had been filled with anger and defiance. The look she gave me now was kind of…nice.  
I stared at her for a moment, my eyes narrowing as I noticed the cuts and scratches that dotted her normally perfect face. Strands of her long, thick dark brown hair were sticking to the side of her face and I felt a strange urge to brush them aside. After a few moments of silence, I realized I was just standing there staring at her like an idiot and I shook myself, not liking the way she made me feel when she looked at me like that…it unsettled me. I came closer and cut her remaining bonds, turned and walked back toward the door, trying to ignore the warm feeling that was trickling through me.  
"Who are you?" she asked, her clear voice thick with gratitude. "What's going on? Are you here to rescue me?'  
I didn't answer her. If I did, she would surely recognize my voice and everything I had accomplished so far would be flushed down the drain. I simply opened the door and motioned for her to follow me.  
"I'll take that as a yes," she said uncertainly, brushing her hair behind her ear and taking a hesitant step in my direction.  
She followed me out past the gagged and tied guard at the door to her chamber. Suddenly, there were frog noises and I turned to see Odette chasing a bunch of frogs on the floor. I quirked a small smile of amusement as I watched her for a moment. It was kind of…cute. I balked at my own thoughts. What was the matter at me. Angry and embarrassed at myself, I glared in annoyance and stomped after her.  
We were running out of time.  
"My frogs! Come back! And stop thawing out!" she cried as I came back and picked her surprisingly light form up by the collar and carried her out.  
"Wait! My friends need to suck on those frogs!" she protested vainly, trying to get away from me but I wrapped an arm around her tightly. She was so small - she only came up to the top of my chin - and I folded her neatly against my body to restrain her, smirking as she huffed in annoyance and gave up.  
"I hope you know what I went through to get those stupid things," she grumbled and I held back a laugh. I quickly led her through the building and found a grate that led to the sewer system underneath the fortress. I let her go first before I followed after her and put the grate back in place, plunging us into darkness.  
The only sound was our feet shuffling along as the water flowed past us in little streams. Suddenly, I heard her stumble and a grunt as she fell.  
"Um, excuse me but whoever you are, I can't see a thing," she said, getting to her feet.  
I reached for her blindly but before I could find her she found me by bumping into me. She placed one of her hands on my chest, curling her slender fingers around the fabric of my shirt blindly. Uncomfortable by her warm touch, I gently pulled her hand away and held her wrist, pulling her along behind me.  
We continued walking silently in the sewer system underneath the fortress. Soldiers walked back and forth above us and I just prayed we wouldn't be discovered.  
After a little while of walking, we hopped out of a grate and into one of the courtyards, sticking to the shadows as we made out way to the wall. Once we got there, I looked around for something to use and found a rope with a hook on it at the end.  
Well that was lucky.  
I gathered the rope up in my hands and tossed it upwards. Unfortunately, the hook didn't stick into the cement and began to fall back down. Before it could get too far though, the girl used her air bending and blew a small wing that carried the hook back up and lodged it securely into the top of the wall. I looked at her in surprise.  
"What? Your not the only one involved with this escape," she said smartly, grinning.  
I shook my head, grabbed her and tossed her onto my back and grabbed onto the robe. She latched her arms around my shoulders and her legs wound around my waist tightly as I began to haul us up. It was surprisingly easy because she was so light - it was just like carrying a big backpack, no trouble at all. As we scaled the rope on the innermost wall of the fortress, I froze in panic as we were suddenly spotted by a shouting soldier.  
"There, on the wall!" he screamed, alerting the others.  
A soldier appeared at the top of the wall we were climbing. He cut the rope and we fell down the wall with Odette screaming in surprise. Just before we smacked the ground, she airbent us both to a soft landing. When the dust cleared, I unsheathed my swords and we ran. I glanced around me and spotted Drake on the ornate balcony.  
"The Avatar has escaped! Close all the gates immediately!" he shouted furiously.  
As we ran, Odette passed me and I balked at her. I was trying to keep her safe and she was running head on into danger? Jeeze this kid made it impossible to protect her.  
"Stay close to me!" she said and I had no choice but to do as she said.  
The third gate was closing in front of us, as were the two beyond it, and it was blocked by multiple soldiers. Odette airbent a blast of air that blew them out of the way easily. She made the gate but I got too involved in the melee and had to stop.  
I was in trouble. Odette turned back to see me struggling and she grabbed a spear from a guard near her, airbent him out of the way, broke the head off the spear and launched back into battle to save me. The gate closed behind her.  
I was completely surrounded, but Odette airbent them all out of the way. With a mighty effort she then catapulted me to the top of the third wall and I gasped in surprise as I spared through the air, not liking the sensation all that much.  
As soon as my feet touched solid ground I was instantly surrounded. I was just about to attack but Odette appeared, using her staff as a helicopter blade. She plucked me off the wall and headed into the next courtyard.  
I could tell she was struggling to keep us aloft and I tried to help her out as much as I could. I used my swords to knock away the spears sent up at us by the guards. We barely made it to the top of the next wall as we crash unceremoniously onto the battlement. Odette's staff went spinning away as guards instantly rushed us. Odette ran for her staff, but a guard stopped her, taking several swings at her with his sword.  
Furious, I jumped in front of her and threw the guard over the wall. Odette then airbent the other guards off the wall.  
On the second wall, there were more soldiers and they were bringing scaling ladders. Odette and I knocked off the soldiers as they reached the top and with two mighty blasts, the girl depopulated the two scaling ladders nearest her as I knocked the one final soldier off mine. Odette brought over her two scaling ladders and stepped onto the one I had just emptied. She handed one ladder to me and I looked at her in confusion.  
"Here, take this. Jump on my back!" she yelled, not waiting for me to reply.  
Unsure of what she was doing or if she could hold my weight, I complied and she began to use the ladders as massive stilts, shedding one each time a step was taken. As we rose up in a straight line, I could see the road beyond and noticed that dawn was approaching. The first ladder shed still had some Fire Nation soldiers on it, but it fell in the dust and I began to have a glimmer of hope.  
"Gimme the next one!" she yelled at me.  
Again, I complied. At the bottom of our final stilt, a Fire Nation soldier sent a gout of flame up the ladder. It was too late though, as Odette and I jumped from the last stilt and just manage to grab the edge of the final wall. We were unable to hold on, however, and we fell to the ground. I jumped up and drew my swords. Four firebenders unleashed their flame on us and I leaped in front of the girl, but Odette put me behind her and airbent the flames away.  
Drake shoved his way through the crowd and my eyes narrowed.  
"Hold your fire!" he snarled. "The Avatar must be captured alive!"  
Oh so he needed her alive then? Well that changed the game for me and made it a whole lot easier.  
I instantly came up behind her and crossed my swords in front of the girl's throat. Drake and I stared at each other icily for a long minute. I smirked as he tried to figure out who it was behind the mask but there was no way he would be able to tell anything, even my eyes were hidden in shadow.  
After a long, intense standoff, Drake, through gritted teeth, finally spoke. "Open the gate."  
Bingo.  
And officer turned to him sharply. "Admiral, what are you doing?"  
Drake whipped on him, seething. "Let them out, now!"  
The gate was opened and I backed out with my captive, swords still at her slender throat. I continued backing away from the fortress, victory making me dizzy with relief. Drake was now looking at us from the top of the main gate.  
I was so close…almost there. We were just a few feet away from the trees and then we could make a run for it. Just a-  
Something struck my mask hard and my world shattered around me. Stars busted across my eyes my thoughts went black as I slumped to the ground.

Odette:

I gasped in shock as the masked man collapsed backward, the arrow missing my head by mere inches. I turned in horror, my eyes glazed over as panic and guilt set in. I recovered swiftly, turned around and airbent up a huge cloud of dust around me and the man, knowing I had to move fast.  
The main gate opened and a crowd Fire Nation soldiers emerged and ran towards the dust cloud. Inside the cloud, I hesitantly removed my rescuer's mask. I dropped it in fright though when I recognized the handsome face that had haunted me in so many of my dreams.  
Prince Ren.  
I started back in horror and fell backward on the ground. I jumped up and ran away, my mind reeling. But then I turned to look at Ren, eyes huge as compassion and gratitude welled up inside my chest. He had been the one to save me, if it weren't for him I may never have gotten out of there. And as much as I tried to deny it to myself…I liked him. I knew he was cruel and horrible and greedy, but there was more to him than met the eye…good was in him, I sensed it. I knew he was not the man he pretended to be. But if I just left him here to die, I would never get to see the real him. I would never get the chance to try and show him I was his friend…  
I turned and saw the Fire Nation soldiers getting closer through the smoke. Knowing I was probably insane for doing it, I grabbed his stuff, picked him up, and tossed him over my shoulder.  
Ugh…he was heavy for me. He wasn't fat or anything - really he was well muscled and toned, not a scrap of fat on his body - but he was so much taller than I was and I felt my legs quiver under the weight. When the dust cleared, however, we were gone, racing through the forest with him on my back.

Ren:

I blinked my eyes open and all I saw was white. After a few moments of blinking my eyes repeatedly, the white turned to a blurry view of a forest. All I knew was that I was looking straight up into the canopy overhead and it was morning.  
I turned my head to the side and my eyes widened in surprise as I saw Odette sitting on a nearby root, my vision still blurry. She looked forlorn and I wondered what was the matter with her.  
Wait? What had come over me lately? Why was I so concerned about this insignificant girl? I was trying to kidnap her for heaven sakes! I needed to get my head out of the clouds and focus on what was important. The girl was no one and nothing special. She was just an item, something I needed to restore my old life back to normal. What happened to her was no concern of mine. I would return her to my father and that would be the end of our story together. I just needed to wait for the perfect opportunity to attack, and since my vision was all blurry still, that wasn't an option at the moment.  
"You know what the worst part about being born over a hundred years ago is? I miss all the friends I used to hang out with. Before the war started," she said, still looking down at the ground, "I used to always my friend Kuzan. The two of us, we'd get in and out of so much trouble together. He was one of the best friends I ever had…" She turned to face me and all I could do was lay there, puzzled. Why wasn't she running? She knew what I planned on doing with her - and since I no longer had my mask on she obviously knew it was me and not some hero who'd come to save the day like that boneheaded boyfriend of hers. I tuned back in as she continued talking.  
"And he was from the Fire Nation, just like you. If we knew each other back then, do you think we could have been friends too?"  
That cut me short for a moment. From the Fire Nation. Friends?  
I forced myself away from the thoughts. Odette and I would never be friends or anything close to friends. She was the key to returning home, and that was all I needed her for…no matter how appealing the idea of a civil us was. But I wanted to go home, and unfortunatley, I needed her to get there. Dead or alive, the girl was going to get me home.  
It was now or never.  
I was lying on a bank of earth, Odette next to me, perched a large tree root. After a pause, when I was sure I had her guard down, I shot forward and let loose a huge gout of flame at her, but Odette dodged and flew away on a current of air.  
I watched her hop away from tree branch to tree branch and out sight, sighing in frustration.

Sullen and with that infuriating girl plaguing my mind, I walked past my Uncle on the main deck. He was practicing with the sumki horn he'd bought when we'd had our run in with the pirates.  
When he spotted me, he stopped playing and smiled at me. "Where have you been, Prince Ren? You missed music night! Lieutenant Jee sang a stirring love song."  
I held back a snort of annoyance and ignored his question.  
"I'm going to bed. No disturbances," I growled darkly, walking away.  
I stomped back to my cabin, fuming over everything that had happened last night. Even though I'd sorwn that I would never let my guard down when around her again, that was exactly what I had done. I'd let her and her annoying little statements and charm get to me.  
As I laid awake in my own chamber, I became lost in thought. The question that bothered me most was, why had she done it? Why did she save me? Had she taken pity on me, or had she truly cared if I lived or died. I had been so horrible to her and her little friends…so why would she help me or even want to? She could have just left me there and let Drake get me, but she hadn't. And what had that little comment she and left me with been? 'Do you think we could have been friends?'  
I looked at the Fire Nation symbol hanging on my wall. 'From the fire nation, just like you…'  
I glared at the flag in annoyance and then rolled over.  
There was no way that girl would ever be my friend…and there was no way I could give up my country.

Odette:

After I'd gone to collect more frozen frogs, I quickly returned to the run down temple. Downcast and exhausted from everything that had happened, I put the frogs in my friends' mouths.  
"Suck on these. They'll make you feel better," I said sleepily.  
I collapsed backwards onto Emrys's massive tail with a sigh. I looked over at Alana, her frog in her mouth.  
"Odette, how was your trip? Did you make any new friends?" she asked, her speech impaired by the amphibian oral obstruction.  
I winced as I thought of everything that happened between Ren an I. It would probably be best if I didn't tell Kole and Alana about what had happened…I didn't need them hating Ren any more than they already did. I still had hope that he could and would eventually change and I didn't need my friends to complicate things more than they already were.  
I sighed and rolled over. "No, I don't think I did."  
A few hours later, Alana, a happy expression on her face, was still sucking on the frog in her mouth.  
"Mmmm! This is tasty! Mmm!" she said, grinning goofily and I shook my head.  
Finally, it completely thawed out and began moving around and croaking. Alana realized what it was and spat it out in disgust. I looked to Kole; his frog had also thawed. He cried out and it hopped out of his mouth. Both Kole and Alana began spitting and coughing while I just laughed and smiled.


	15. Chapter 14: The Fortuneteller

Kole:

Alana, Odette, Fang and I were all sitting lazily around the camp we had made on a beautiful lakeshore. A large blue tent occupied the left hand portion of the small clearing, a little ways away from where we sat. It was a very peaceful spot to be in.  
I was gazing out over the sparkling water, thinking about what we had left for food, when a large green fish suddenly jumped out of the water and fell back into the lake. I got up and pointed at it.  
"Look!"  
Alana got up and assumed a gunslinger stance. The fish jumped up in mid-air again and dropped back into the water.  
Alana glared. "He is taunting us. You are so gonna be dinner!"  
I watched in amusement as Alana ran back to the tent and grabbed her fishing pole which was standing up outside of it. I'd learned by now not to argue with her when it came to man's work - she was so ridiculous sometimes. With a smirk at me she ran back to the lake edge and cast the pole a few times without effect.  
"Hey! Where's the fishing line?"  
"Oh, I didn't think you would need it, Alana," I said, smirking as I held up a necklace I had been weaving.  
Alana glared at me. "Aahh, it's all tangled!"  
"Not tangled – woven," I replied. I got up into a standing position and turned to Odette. She had been avoiding me a little bit ever since that disastrous almost kiss. I hadn't tried to do it again and I didn't plan on bringing it up - I could tell it made her uncomfortable. So, I figured to just take it slow for a while and see where that got me.  
"I made you a necklace, Odette," I said, looking from side to side in an embarrassed fashion. "I thought since you don't really have anything like it…"  
I held up the necklace and a sheepish smile spread across my face.  
She smiled, walked over to me and took the necklace. "Thanks, Kole. I love it."  
I looked over at Alana who was at the water's edge and looking back at me sarcastically. "Great, Kole. Maybe instead of saving the world you can go into the jewelry making business."  
"I don't see why I can't do both," I snapped back as Odette put the necklace on.  
Alana turned her back on me to see the fish leaping again from the lake. She threw her pole like a spear and it disappeared into the water.  
"Stop taunting me!" she yelled and I snickered at her.  
Furious, she drew her knife from behind her back and entered the water in a bandy-legged way. She lunged into the water with the knife, trying to catch the fish. I smiled in amusement, watching Alana's antics.  
"So, how do I look?" I heard Odette ask from behind me.  
I turned to face her as she began to speak. By the end of her question, my eyes had almost popped out of my skull. I was dumfounded. Around her, the world had become beautiful, with the rocks and trees bathed in a beautiful golden sunlight, every object reflecting light as if studded with diamonds. Her hand was at her new necklace and the small patches of red under her eyes indicated some embarrassment. I cleared my throat awkwardly and used my left forefinger to loosen my collar while staring at Odette.  
"You mean all of you or just your neck? I mean, uh, both look great," I said, stumbling for my words.  
Alana had just emerged from the lake and was holding a fish as if about to give it a kiss. "Smoochie, smoochie, someone's in love."  
The fish flipped in her hands, slapping her in the face and knocking her back into the lake.  
Good.  
I rubbed my head in an embarrassed gesture. "I...well…"  
Odette looked in annoyance towards Alana. "Stop teasing him, Alana."  
Fang padded over to me just then and sat happily at my feet.  
"Kole's just a good friend," she said and rubbed my head. "A sweet little guy – just like Fang."  
She then rubbed Fang's head just as she had mine a moment before.  
"Thanks," I said, completely put down by that. I was being compared to a dog.  
Alana approached us then, sopping wet, empty handed and with a dark look on her face.  
Suddenly there was an ominous noise off in the distance that prompted Fang to run toward it, barking. We raced after to him and found him sitting on a large rock, yapping like crazy, his hackles raised. He was joined a moment later by Odette who had airbent herself into the air and onto the rock. She pointed towards the source of the noise as we caught up.  
"Someone's being attacked by a platypus bear!" she cried out, her eyes wide.  
Alana and I climbed up beside her and saw a huge bear like creature with red eyes and the bill of a platypus. It bared its teeth and reared itself up on its hind legs. The bear was threatening a man in blue who smiled calmly at the advancing monster.  
The bear advanced, swinging at the man, who dodged the blows by causally stepping backwards, hands behind his back. The bear swung a few more times while Odette jumped up onto a rock behind the bear. The man, strangely enough, still had a smile still plastered on his face.  
"Well, hello there," the man said casually to Odette. The bear swung at him again and the man dodged. "Nice day, isn't it?"  
"Make noise, it'll run off!" Odette yelled at him frantically as Alana and I ran up behind her.  
"No, play dead, he'll lose interest!" Alana yelled.  
The bear swung and missed again.  
"Whoa! Close one. Haha!" he chimed.  
"Run down hill, then climb a tree!" I called.  
"No, punch him in the bill!" Alana snapped.  
"And then run in zigzags!" Odette cried, her eyes wide in panic.  
The man smiled and shook his head at our suggestions. "No need. It's going to be fine."  
The bear swung again, swiping a large chunk of wood out of a nearby tree as the calm man ducked just in time. Odette shoot into the air from off her nearby rock up over the head of the bear. She landed, putting herself between the calm man and the bear, and airbent up a wall of air that momentarily pushed the  
beast backwards.  
"Whoa there!" she said, trying to calm the raging beast down.  
The bear reared up and roared, only to have Emrys rear up behind it and let out a deafening screech that made my teeth rattle. The bear froze on it's hind legs, dropped an egg out it's behind, and ran into the river and swam away.  
Alana ran forward with a big goofy grin on her face and picked up the large egg.  
"Mmm! Lunch!" She sniffed the egg, then looked at the calm man with a haughty look. "Lucky for you we came along."  
The calm man just grinned. "Thanks, but everything was already under control. Not to worry, Aunt Wu predicted I'd have a safe journey." He put his hands in a position of prayer and bowed slightly.  
Odette frowned. "Aunt who?"  
The calm man shook his head. "No, Aunt Wu. She's the fortuneteller from my village. Awful nice knowing your future."  
That peaked my interest. "Wow, it must be. That explains why you were so calm."  
Alana snorted. "But the fortuneteller was wrong! You didn't have a safe journey, you were almost killed!"  
"But I wasn't. All right, have a good one!" He gestured in farewell and began to walk away, but turned back again. "Oh, and Aunt Wu said if I met any travelers to give them this."  
He handed Odette a long, thin wrapped object and walked away.  
I stared after him thoughtfully. "Maybe we should go see Aunt Wu and learn our fortunes. It could be fun."  
Alana rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, fortunetelling is nonsense."  
While Alana was speaking, Odette shredded the objects wrapping to reveal an umbrella. When Alana finished speaking, the umbrella opened in Odette's hand.  
"What do ya know, an umbrella!" she said, smiling.  
The sky darkened suddenly and thunder boomed as it began to pour rain. I smiled and waterbent the rain in a sparkling arc away from my head.  
"That proves it," I said, thoroughly convinced. I ran under the umbrella with Odette.  
Alana held the egg above her head to try and deflect the rain. "No it doesn't – you can't really tell the future."  
"I guess you're not really getting wet then," I said snarkily.  
The egg slipped out of Alana's hands and in her attempt to grab it again it flew up into the air and landed back on her head. As she fumed, Odette and I doubled over in laughter until tears were streaming from our eyes.  
After Alana stopped complaining and cleaned herself up, the three of us started walking down a road we found not too far off. It was still pouring rain but Odette and I were nice and dry under the umbrella. On the other hand, Alana was getting soaked.  
"Of course she predicted it was gonna rain. The sky's been gray all day," she grumbled after ten minutes of walking.  
I groaned. "Just admit you might be wrong and you can come under the umbrella."  
Alana glared. "Look, I'm going to predict the future now." She started making funny motions and spoke in an exaggerated voice. "It's going to keep drizzling."  
She folded her arms across her chest and assumed an expression of defiance. "See!"  
The rain suddenly stopped and the sun came out.  
Odette and I looked up, smiles on our faces.  
"Not everyone has the gift, Alana," she said to my sister and I smirked.  
We kept on going, leaving a baffled Alana behind us. As Emrys passed Alana, she shook off her wet body, drenching Alana once again.  
"Yahhh!" she cired as she got soaked.  
A few hours later we finally made it to the village where the fortuneteller supposedly was.  
It rested under a single snow capped mountain, its peak was partially obscured in clouds. We walked through the main gate and came to the village square. We made our way through the little square before we were directed to the front of a circular door of one of the buildings where Aunt Wu did her work. Some sort of herald dressed in black greeted us as we approached.  
"Aunt Wu is expecting you," the herald said politely, bowing to us.  
"Really?" I asked, excitement prickling through me.  
The three of us walked forward as Alana made a sound of disgust. We entered into a room with three sitting pillows and an open door to the left. The herald closed the door behind us as we walked in. A young boy in a green shirt and white pants and huge bushy brown hair that stuck straight out from his head entered from the opening on the left.  
"My name is Tye and I'm Aunt Wu's assistant," he said.  
His eyes suddenly went wide as his look fell on Odette. She had an unenthusiastic facial expression and slightly hunched over posture as she looked around her.  
Tye slunk up to Odette and my fists clenched tightly anger flicked through me. "Well hello there."  
Odette rubbed her nose, uninterested in the boy which calmed me down some. "Hello."  
Odette and I sat on the pillows as Tye continued to speak, mostly to her. "Can I get you some tea, or some of Aunt Wu's special bean curd puffs?"  
Alana raised her hand. "I'll try a curd puff."  
Tye held up a finger to her, ignoring her.  
"Just a second," he said as he bent down to address Odette. "So what's your name?"  
"Odette," she said simply.  
"That is such a beautiful name! And you've got some pretty big ears, don't you?" he said and I balked at him. Odette didn't have big ears; hers were perfect.  
"I...guess…" she replied, glancing around, confused.  
Alana smiled cheekily. "Oh, don't be modest. They're huge!"  
She spread her arms wide to demonstrate just how huge they were, as Odette looked angrily at Alana. She put her hands over her ears as if to smash them down to an acceptable size.  
"Well Odette, it is very nice to meet you. Very nice," he said with a wink.  
"Likewise," she replied politely and I frowned in annoyance.  
Tye left, looking back slyly out of the corner of his eye at Odette. I grumpily took a seat on the pillows, sitting between Alana and Kole.  
"I can't believe we're here in the house of nonsense," Alana grumbled.  
"Try to keep an open mind, Alana. There are things in this world that just can't be explained. Wouldn't it be nice to have some insight into your future?" I said.  
Alana rolled her eyes. "It would be nice to have some bean curd puffs."  
I looked at her, annoyed at this. I ignored her and decided to look around a bit. There was a hallway adjacent to the reception room we were sitting in. In the hallway from what I could tell there was another door leading farther into the building. From the right, Tye appeared with a tray of refreshments. A moment later the inner door opened to reveal a young woman in a green kimono. She rushes over to Tye.  
"Oh Tye! Aunt Wu says I'm going to meet my true love! He's going to give me a rare panda lilly," she cried.  
Tye glanced over his right shoulder at Odette and I felt my blood start to boil again.  
"That's so romantic." He looked dreamily over at the girl by my side who didn't appear to notice him. "I wonder if my true love would like a rare flower?"  
"Good luck with that!" Odette said earnestly, crossing her fingers.  
"Is that the big eared girl who Aunt Wu predicted you'd marry?" the woman in green asked, amused.  
Tye shoved the young woman and brought the tray over to the us, but his eyes were fixed on Odette. He was so distracted that he tripped and almost dumped the food on her, but she helped steady his grip on the tray. Her hands now held his as they together held the tray. They shared a moment looking into each other's eyes and I swear I had never wanted to strangle something more than in that moment.  
"Enjoy your snack," Tye said, embarrassed, and backed away.  
Just then, an old woman came into the room. She wore a long gold colored kimono and her wizened face was pulled into a cheery smile, her grey hair piled neatly into a bun on her head. I presumed this was Aunt Wu.  
"Welcome young travelers. Now, who's next? Don't be shy," she said in a grandmotherly voice.  
Both Alana and I looked away, uninterested. I looked to Odette and she shrugged.  
"I guess that's me," she said.  
She ran to follow Aunt Wu and disappeared around the corner.  
I sat quietly, wondering what the fortuneteller would say to Odette. Alana sat just as quietly next to me, chomping on curd puffs.  
"Not bad. Not bad. Mmmm!" she looked over at me and saw my staring at her with an arched eyebrow and she offered the bowl to me.  
I pushed the puffs away. "I'm good on puffs. So...what do you think they're talking about back there?"  
Alana shrugged. "Boring stuff, I'm sure. Love. Who she's going to marry. How many babies she's gonna have."  
I grew more alarmed at each of Alana's pronouncements. "Yeh...dumb stuff like that…" I bit my fingernails, eyes wide. "Well, I've gotta find a bathroom!"  
Alana stretched out over the pillows and ate another puff while I ran off, desperate to know what was being said. I walked down the hall near the inner door, trying to be quiet so I could eavesdrop. I pressed my ear gently up against the door.  
Aunt Wu's voice reached me through the thin door and I smiled, relived I could hear.  
"Your palms are so smooth – do you use moisturizer?" she was asking.  
"Actually, I have this special seaweed lotion. I could get you some if you want," Odette said and I stuck my tongue out, my face clearly expressing my disdain for discussions around moisturizer.  
"So, do you see anything interesting in my love line?" Odette asked curiously. My eyes bugged out instantly and I leaned in closer to hear.  
"I feel great romance for you. The man you're going to marry…" Aunt Wu said.  
"Tell me more!"  
Aunt Wu paused before she said, "I can see that he is a very powerful bender."  
My expression flipped from wide eyed to smug in an instant.  
In the hallway, I launched myself into the air, ecstatic over this news. I started to make my way back to the reception are, feeling like I was walking on air. There was no doubt in my mind as to what this prediction meant.

Odette:

The room we were in was a simple room with four red pillars rising to the roof. A square made by the pillars was depressed into the floor by a small amount so that you had to step down into the area where Aunt Wu and the guests sat and discussed the future. In the center of the square was a small fire. Four pillows lay at the four corners of the square. On the left was a small urn filled to the brim with bones.  
I was pleasantly surprised by my love life prediction. As far as that went, I knew things were going to go extremely well for me. I just didn't know how I would break that news to Kole when the time came.  
Aunt Wu's words echoed through my mind hauntingly…  
"A man of royal blood, bound by anger and pride, can be set free by love and time. Destiny eludes him and hate makes him blind. You must learn patience and teach the man to love again, for he has lost all sight of hope. But you, his ray of sunshine, will save him from a dreadful fate. Your road is rough and the outcome is unsure…many obstacles block your way. But if you survive to see the day, you will share a true and most envious love with your other half. If you fail, you will remain incomplete without him forever. Save him from his self before it's too late. The scarred prince awaits…"  
I wished I could just fast forward through the future and have my prince, but I knew that I had to get through the things that kept me from him if it was ever going to work out…the future could always chance after all.  
After we were done with the first prediction, we moved over to the urn. My mind was still reeling from what I had just learned so I really wasn't paying that much attention. All I could do was pray that the bones told the same story that my hands did.  
"This is the most reliable method of telling your fortune. The bones never lie," Aunt Wu was saying. She motioned to the urn with bones. "Go on, pick one."  
I picked one and we sat down.  
"Now throw it on the fire."  
I obeyed.  
"The heat makes cracks in the bones and I read the bone cracks to tell your destiny," she explained.  
A huge crack appeared and I blinked in surprise.  
"Wow, that's a big crack," I said. The bone cracked again, almost disintegrating.  
Aunt Wu was also surprised. "I've never seen this before. Oh MY!"  
The bone exploded, sending flames to the ceiling. We stared at the fire in shock, bits of bone surrounding it.  
Aunt Wu grew more and more animated with each passing second. "This is incredible! You will be involved in a great battle; an awesome conflict between the forces of good and evil, a battle whose outcome will determine the fate of the whole world!"  
I sighed in disapointment as the fire slowly died away. "Yeh, yeh, I knew that already, but what about this scarred man?"  
"The man? You want to know more about love?" she asked, confused.  
"Yes!"  
"I'm sorry, but I didn't see anything else," she said. At this, I looked at the floor, downcast.  
Aunt Wu slid a winkled finger under my chin and made me look at her. She was looking at me compassionately. "Listen deary, just because the bones had nothing to day does not mean that my other prediction won't come true. I can see in your eyes you know who this man is already…is there something you are not telling me?"  
I wanted to tell her, I really truly did. But if I told her, she would learn I was the Avatar and Ren was after me. If people found out the Avatar was here, it would just be another repeat of what had happened before at Kioyshi. I decided to summerize.  
"I do know him. He is a prince and also my enemy. He wants to capture me and bring me back to his father to regain his throne. His father finds me valuable. I have a journey that needs to be completed and this man is only complicating things even more…especially now that I can't seem to get him out of my head." I muttered at the last part, embarrassed by my confession.  
"Dear, all of this is simple really. Just trust your heart and you will be with the one you love. The prediction I saw was clear. You two will find a way to each other someday…it will just take work getting there," Aunt Wu said comfortingly.  
"Really!?" I said, jumping up excitedly. I stood and clasped my hands in a gesture of thanks. "Thank you, Aunt Wu!"  
I ran out, happier than I had ever been before…

Kole:

When I returned to the waiting room, Alana was picking her teeth. I strolled into the reception room, looking like the cat who ate the canary.  
Alana looked at me suspiciously. "Looks like someone had a pretty good bathroom break."  
I froze, trying to come up with a story fast. "Yeh, when I was in there…"  
Alana threw out her hand to me and looked away in disgust, squeezing her eyes shut. "I don't even wanna know!"  
Just then Aunt Wu and Odette came back. I searched her face but she wasn't paying attention to me, she was staring at the floor, a puzzled look on her face.  
Huh, wonder what I missed.  
Aunt Wu turned to Alana and I. "Who's next?"  
Alana stood, stretching. "Okay, let's get this over with."  
Aunt Wu looked unhappily at her. "Your future is full of struggle and anguish, most of it self-inflicted."  
"But, you didn't read my palms or anything!" Alana snapped, outraged.  
Aunt Wu snorted. "I don't need to – it's written all over your face."  
She turned to me with a smile. "How about you young man? Would you like a reading?"  
I shook my head with a small smile. "No thank you, I already have a good idea of what the future holds."  
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously for a moment before she shrugged and turned away, heading back into her room.  
We thanked the Harold at the door and then left, the door quickly closing behind us. We found Farh waiting by the door for us, her dragon tail flicking lazily. Once together again, we all moved further into the main square together. Emrys's massive footsteps echoed through our conversation.  
"Well, now you got to see for yourselves that fortunetelling is just a big, stupid hoax," Alana said.  
"You're just saying that because you're going to make yourself unhappy your whole life," I replied, smirking. Even Alana had to admit that she had been dead on about that one.  
"That woman is crazy! My life will be calm, and happy and joyful!" she exploded. She got more upset with each of her successive pronouncements. She ended by kicking a small stone off the ground which ricocheted off a nearby sign and hit her in the head, knocking her on her behind.  
I gave her a knowing look, folding my arms across my chest while Odette laughed behind me.  
"Ow! That doesn't prove anything!" she snarled from the ground, rubbing her forehead.  
"Well, I liked my predictions. Certain things are going to turn out very well," Odette said, holding her hands together in a gesture of hope.  
"They sure are," I said knowingly.  
"Why, what did she tell you?" she asked eagerly.  
I smiled, my heart skipping a beat as I looked at her. "Some stuff. You'll find out."  
While we had been talking, a large crowd had gathered at its center where a covered stage resided. We approached the crowd from the rear, curious. Most of the people standing around were looking up in silence. The calm man we'd run into earlier was one of these onlookers.  
"What's with the sky?" I asked curiously.  
"We are waiting for Aunt Wu to come and read the clouds to predict the fate of the whole village," the calm man replied, as happy as a calm.  
Odette pointed up at the sky. "That cloud looks like a fluffy bunny."  
The calm man's eyes widened in alarm. "You better hope that's not a bunny – the fluffy bunny cloud forecasts doom and destruction."  
Alana shook her head in disgust. "Do you even hear yourself?"  
the calm man looked annoyed at her. Another crowd member from in front of the group spoke up.  
"The cloud reading will tell us if Mount Makapu will remain dormant for another year or if it will erupt."  
The calm man nodded in agreement. "We used to have a tradition once a year of going up the mountain to check the volcano ourselves, but ever since Aunt Wu moved to the village twenty years ago we have a tradition of not doing that."  
Alana was incensed. "I can't believe you would trust your lives to that crazy old woman's superstition."  
I frowned and put a hand on her shoulder. "Shhhh! She's coming!"  
We all turned to see the approach of Aunt Wu and her herald and watched as she gracefully ascended the large staircase. The crowd parted to allow Aunt Wu access to the little stage. The crowd began to clap and cheer and Fang went crazy, barking and bounding around Odette's feet. Tye showed up suddenly next to her, grinning like a fool.  
He pointed to the sky and looked at her. "Hey Odette, doesn't that cloud look like a flower?"  
She frowned and looked. "Sure, I guess."  
I cleared my throat and sauntered over to them, casually stepping between them and simultaneously pushed Tye away.  
"Hey Odette, don't you think that cloud looks like a flower?" I asked, recycling Tye's question.  
She waved me off, her eyes glued to Aunt Wu. "Shh!"  
I sighed and watched as the old woman bowed, drew a breath and held up her hands to the sky. We looked up, turning our attention to an arrow shaped cloud. Aunt Wu examined an open book in her hands.  
"Bending arrow cloud...good crops this year, nice big harvest!" she said grandly.  
"Arg! Good news!" an old man cheered and hugged an old woman, presumably his wife.  
Aunt Wu looked back up at the sky. "Wavy moon shape cloud...let's see...gonna be a great year for twins."  
A pair of twins dressed in green gave each other a high five. "Yes!"  
"And a cumulus cloud with a twisted nob coming off the end of it...the village will not be destroyed by the volcano this year!" Aunt Wu announced grandly.  
As the crowd erupted into cheers and cries, I pulled Odette away to the back of the crowd. She was cheering and clapping along with the rest of the people but I decided to go ahead and start talking anyways.  
"Odette, since I got you here, uh, there's something I want to tell you. I like you, but more than normal…" I started but she clearly was paying no attention to me. She was looking with rapt attention at the stage where Aunt Wu was. As I finished though she ran up towards the stage leaving me alone. I looked after her, crushed. Fang, perched by my feet, also dropped his ears in sadness.  
I sighed. "Never mind."

The next day, I watched sullenly as Odette knocked on Aunt Wu's door. After a few moments, the woman appeared and opened the door.  
"Hi, Aunt Wu. Sorry to bother you," she said politely.  
"Anytime," Aunt Wu replied.  
"About this man I'm supposed to marry…" her cheeks flushed momentarily in embarrassment "...is he gonna be handsome?" She clasped her hands together in a gesture of hope. "Oh, I hope he's tall!"  
Aunt Wu smiled. "Ahh, you want another reading."  
"Yes, please!"  
She followed Aunt Wu into her reading room and the door closed behind them.  
I sighed in frustration and rubbed my eyes. I'm right here, Odette.  
I turned and spotted Alana's long dark hair as she walked through the village square. She was clearly in a bad mood.  
"I can't believe all these saps," she growled as I came up beside her. "Someone really needs to scream some sense at them."  
I shrugged, looking around. "They seem happy, Alana."  
Alana shook her head, her sea blue eyes sparkling with mischife.  
"Not for long. I'm gonna prove Aunt Wu's predictions are nonsense." She turned and grabbed a nearby man. "Hey, you. I bet Aunt Wu told you to wear those red shoes, didn't she?"  
"Yeh, she said I'd be wearing red shoes when I met my true love," he said, looking fondly at his bright red shoes.  
Alana nodded. "Uh-huh. And how many times have you worn those shoes since you got that fortune?"  
The red shoed man smiled. "Everyday."  
Alana curled her fingers and threw her arms out at him, demonstrating her anger and frustration. "THEN OF COURSE IT'S GOING TO COME TRUE!"  
"Really? You think so? I'm so excited!" the man said, not seeming to notice the murderous look my sister was giving him.  
Alana let out a cry of anger and kicked a stone on the ground. I winced as it hit a duck, which soon flew up onto Alana's shoulders and started to annoy her. She fell to the ground as it attacked her and then crawled away with the duck expressing its displeasure loudly.  
After I got the duck off her, she ran into what had to be the filthiest man I had ever seen in my life. He was brown from head to toe and smelled like a sewer. The two had at least a ten minute debate over hygiene.  
"I don't care what Aunt Wu told you, you have to take a bath sometime!" Alana screamed at him, out of her mind after arguing.  
The filthy old man simply smiled, grunted his acknowledgement of Alana's shouting, and turned and walked away in a Pig-Pen like cloud of dirt and dust.  
I shook my head at her and then decided to change the subject. I was getting nowhere with Odette and I knew I needed help. "So, Alana, you know some stuff about ladies, right?"  
She should since she was one…I think…  
Alana replied smugly, obviously enjoying the fact that I had to come to her for help instead of the other way around. "Some stuff? You've come to the right place." She put her arm around my shoulders and pointed at her chest in a conspiratorial gesture. "What can I do you for?"  
I sighed. "Well, there's this girl…"  
Alana nodded her head. "I think I know who you mean."  
"You do? And you're ok with it?"  
She waved her hand. "Of course I am. And, to tell you the truth, I've been picking up the subtle vibe that she likes you too."  
"She does!?" I balked.  
"Oh yeh, she's crazy about ya. All ya have to do now is not mess it up," she said with a grin.  
I frowned. "Well, how do I do that?"  
Alana rolled her eyes. "The number one mistake nice guys like you make: being too nice."  
"You can be too nice?" I clarified, confused.  
"Yup. If you want to keep her interested you have to act aloof, like you don't really care one way or the other."  
"Well...ok…" I said uncertainly "Well see ya later."  
I walked over to Aunt Wu's house, eager to test out Alana's advice.  
When I got there, it was open and Aunt Wu was pushing Odette out into the square.  
"...and you'll be fine as long as you've got a scarf. Bye bye now," Aunt Wu was saying hurriedly, looking frazzled. Yeah, Odette had that effect on me too.  
"Okay, okay, but, one more thing," she said, turning back to the fortuneteller, her long brown hair flowing in gentle waves down her back as she spun around.  
"All right, what is it?" Aunt Wu said, exasperated.  
"Should I eat a mango or a papaya for breakfast tomorrow?" she asked, her grey eyes bright with excitement.  
"Papaya!" she snapped and slammed the door shut.  
"Ohhh, I hate papaya," Odette whined and gave the dirt at her feet a petulant kick.  
I came over and leaned against the wall of Aunt Wu's house, trying to look nonchalant.  
"Oh, hey Odette. I didn't see you there," I said, examining my fingernails.  
"Hey Kole," she said, just as casual as she walked away.  
"That's ok, I'm busy with my own stuff," I called after her retreating figure.  
I stood there for a moment looking abashed. A duck flew near me. We looked at each other and the duck quacked at me and I sighed, following after Odette. I found her near a papaya stand, a depressed look on her face.  
"Ugh. Papaya please," she sighed.  
The shopkeeper handed her a fruit. Behind her, a woman in green and a man in white and pink were talking to each other in the square. I went over to the stand and leaned against it, standing on the right side of her.  
"So...papaya," I said, trying to sound cool.  
"Uh-huh. Would you like some?" she asked.  
I shrugged and picked up a fruit. "You know me. I don't really care what I eat."  
She waved. "Ok then. See you later."  
She turned and walked away again while I took a bite of the fruit. It tasted like a mouthful of wet garbage. I choked and spat it back up, hating the taste.  
I sighed. "Maybe aloof isn't my style."  
I turned and looked up and saw that the man in white and pink had just given something to the woman in green.  
"Oh! A panda lilly!" she cried joyously and they hugged.  
"Did you see that?" I asked Fang who was sitting next to me.  
My eyes on the panda lilly, I ran over and appeared in between the happy couple – physically forcing them apart. They were both surprised, and I leaned over them to point at the flower the woman's hand.  
"Excuse me. Where can a guy find one of those things?"

Following the couple's directions, I hopped up rocks on the side of the mountain, Alana right behind me. It had taken over an hour to get here for this stupid flower and I really hoped it worked. Thankfully though there was an old path that led up the mountain, but it was still treacherous.  
"I can't believe you're dragging me all the way up here for a stupid flower," Alana groaned from behind me.  
"Not just any flower – a panda lilly. I've seen it in action and boy does it work," I said, grinning as I pictured Odette's face.  
Alana climbed up beside me, a sour look on her face, Odette's glider in hand. We had borrowed it jusr in case something went wrong and we needed it to get down the mountain.  
"Flowers are fine once you're married, but at this early stage it's critical that you maintain maximum aloofness," Alana said, and I knew she was just trying to get out of more climbing.  
"But my heart is telling me to get this flower, and Aunt Wu said if I trusted my heart I would be with the one I love," I explained, wincing as her face hardened in disbelief.  
"What? Don't tell me you believe in that stuff too!"  
I shrugged and looked up at the rim of the volcano, just a few more steps away.  
"Well, Aunt Wu hasn't been wrong yet. Why should she be wrong about love?" I pointed up, zeroing in on a single lilly on the rim. "There, on the rim!"  
I ran up and took a deep breath as I finally made it to the rim. The panda lilies doted the rim in little clusters. A fiery glow emanated from the caldera below. I picked up a flower and sniffed it - it smelled like summer and rainwater. My eyes popped open though when I looked down into the volcano. The caldera was full of lava.  
"Oh no! Aunt Wu was wrong," I said, disbelief saturating my voice as Alana came up beside me.  
I dropped the flower into the lava and it burned instantly.  
We stared into the caldera for a moment, alarm on both our faces as we tried to grasp what this meant. Alana beat me to it.  
"Those people all think they're safe. We've got to warn'em," she said.  
We would never make it in time. Thank god for that glider.  
"There's no time to walk. Grab on," I said, opening the glider and grabbing Alana. I ran a few paces before we launched into the air effortlessly. How in the world did she control this thing?  
"Aaahhh!" Alana screamed as we soared down, barely avoiding getting clipped by rocks  
We glided quickly down to the village and landed in the square. As soon as we landed, I gave Alana the glider and ran up to Odette, who was waiting outside of Aunt Wu's door.  
"Hi, Odette," I began, panting from the rapid decent.  
"Can you believe she won't let me in? And after all the business I've given her?" she snapped in annoyance.  
I frowned. "But, she doesn't even charge."  
"I know, but still," she said, obviously hurt by Aunt Wu.  
"Well, we have other things to worry about. Aunt Wu was wrong about the volcano," Alana said, coming up beside me, a hard look on her face.  
Odette shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Alana, you tried to convince me she was wrong before. It's going to take an awful lot to change my min –"  
She was cut off by the sound of the mountain erupting to life. We all turned and looked up at the mountain, which suddenly had a full plume of ash and smoke stretching to the heavens.  
"Oh, no!" Odette murmured, her grey eyes wide with shock and fright.  
Alana wasted no time in turning around and shouting out to the villagers who surrounded us from all sides.  
"Everyone! That volcano is gonna blow any second. Aunt Wu was wrong!" she yelled loudly, her voice echoing through the square.  
"Yeh, yeh, we know you don't believe in Aunt Wu, 'Mr. Science and Reason Lover,'" a girl in the crowd sneered.  
"If you won't listen to him, maybe you'll listen to me. I want to believe Aunt Wu and her predictions as much as you do, but my Kole and Alana saw the lava with their own eyes," Odette said, speaking up as well.  
"Well I heard Aunt Wu's prediction with my own ears," one man called back.  
Odette glared, grabbed her glider, and airbent herself up onto the roof of Aunt Wu's house.  
"Please listen to us! You are all in danger! And we have to get out of here. You can't rely on Aunt Wu's prediction. You have to take fate into your own hands!"  
Another explosion occurred and Alana jabbed a finger at the mountain. "Look! Can your fortunetelling explain that?"  
"Can your science explain why it rains?" someone shot.  
"Yes! Yes, it can!" she snapped, annoyed.  
The crowd was not convinced and I stared in disbelief as they began dispersing back to their homes.  
"They just won't listen to reason," I said as Odette flew back down to us.  
"But they will listen to Aunt Wu," Odette said coldly.  
Alana sighed. "I know, that's the problem."  
"Well, it's about to become the solution. We're taking fate in our own hands. First, I need to borrow Aunt Wu's cloud reading book," she said, looking at my sister and I seriously.

Odette:

I left Kole and Alana to stand guard outside Aunt Wu's door with guilty expressions on their faces. Fang and I entered Aunt Wu's house via the topmost balcony. I found her reading room which was where I began searching. Fang made a few chittering noises at me.  
"Shh...we don't want anyone to hear us," I whispered to him.  
The polished metal gong in front of me suddenly showed Tye's reflection, an expression of surprise on his face. I gasped, jumped, and whirled around, startled.  
Shoot.  
"Oh! I didn't see you there," I said breathily, trying to slow my racing heart.  
"You don't like me. Do you?" he said and I noticed he was sad, and his enormous hair seemed to wilt to match his mood.  
I frowned at him and smiled sweetly. "Of course I like you."  
"But not the way I like you…" he said, blushing furiously.  
Uh, talk about awkward.  
"Oh. I guess not," I said apologetically, feeling awful that he was so upset because of me.  
"It's ok. It's just really hard when you like someone, but they don't think of you that way," he said, his voice breaking near the end.  
"I know what you mean," I said sadly, thinking of a certain someone with a scar on his face.  
"He's really great, by the way," Tye suddenly said.  
What? How in the world did he know about Ren!  
I blushed, still not used to admitting my feelings for him even to myself. "Huh?"  
"That water tribe guy. I can see why you like him so much." I balked as he counted each reason on his fingers. "He's sweet, he's a bender, and his hair seems so manageable."  
He tried to mash his braids down and failed. He looked totally crushed.  
I put my hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. You're gonna meet a great girl who's gonna completely fall for you. I know it," I said. "And for the record, Kole is just my friend."  
"Wait then who-"  
"Let's just say he's someone who's far away right now…" I said, cutting him off before we could go any farther.  
"Oh well, thanks," he said and turned to leave. "Wait! Don't you want this?"  
He handed me the cloud reading book which he had in his shirt.  
"How did you know?" I asked in shock.  
Tye nervously started playing with his fingers. "I've kind of been stalking you...Heh!"  
I blushed. "Oh, thanks. I guess."  
Okay…really awkward.

Kole:

Emrys flew swiftly through the clouds with Odette and I on her back.  
"Clouds are made of water and air so between the two of us we ought to be able to bend them into any shape we want," she called to me from her spot at Emrys's reins.  
"I found it. The symbol for volcanic doom," I said after reading through Aunt Wu's book. I showed Odette the picture and we set to bending the clouds. When we were done, we used the clouds for cover and swiftly returned to the ground, going unnoticed. We slipped back into the crowded village square easily.  
The villagers looked up to see the clouds we'd bent, confusion on their faces. Alana brought Aunt Wu over to her stage right on cue.  
"Aunt Wu, look! Something is happening in the clouds," she said, feigning a frightened expression.  
Aunt Wu frowned. "That's very strange. It shouldn't...Oh my!"  
Her eyes widened in horror at the new skull-shaped cloud that we had created. As the mountain continued spewing smoke into the air, we jumped into action.  
Odette stepped up and addressed the crowd.  
"We can still save the village if we act fast. Alana has a plan," she said and gestured to my sister.  
"Lava is gonna flow downhill to this spot. If we can dig a deep enough trench we can channel all the lava away from the village to the river," my sister cried, demonstrating her plan with her hands.  
"If any of you are earthebenders come with me," Odette called.  
The two twins in green from earlier jumped forward.  
"I'm an earthbender!" one said.  
"I'm not!" the other cried.  
Alana ignored them. "Everybody else grab a shovel…" another explosion suddenly rocked the village square again. "...come on, we've gotta hurry!"  
The crowd dispersed like lightning.  
On the grounds outside of town, Emrys and the townspeople labored to dig the trench, using both earthbending and manual means. Another explosion caused us to the mountain again, now spewing lava.  
Alana's eyes widened in panic. "Dig faster! Dig faster!"  
The earthbending twin finally connected the trench to the river.  
Odette landed next to me and cupped her hands to her mouth. "Everyone needs to evacuate! We'll come for you when it's safe!"  
Everyone ran while we turned to the volcano.  
It was now precipitating ash. On the safe side of the trench, we solemnly watched as the village gate was engulfed by lava and began to burn away. The world had taken on the eerie red tinge of the lava, which now passed through the cemetery, consuming headstones as it flowed downhill. The lava reached the trench and began to fill rapidly, its progress temporarily halted.  
"It's too much! It's gonna overflow!" I said.  
Another explosion rocked the village. Burning ejecta began to rain down in addition to the ash. Alana and I began to run, but turned to see that Odette hadn't moved. A huge boulder fell out of the sky and landed in the trench, exploding.  
"Odette don't!" I yelled.  
My heart sank to the bottom of my shoes as Odette rushed forward with a furious war cry. She launched herself into the air and began to airbend. As the lava began to overflow, Odette blew the lava straight up, rather than allowing it to advance on the village. Finally, she drew in a mighty intake of breath and expelled it, airbending it as it exited, cooling all the lava to stone. Odette relaxed and assumed a meditation pose, calming herself after the massive exertion. Alana and I watched in awe, the mountain still visibly erupting, but no longer threatening the village.  
"Man, sometimes I forget what powerful bender that kid is," Alana murmured.  
"Wait, what did you just say?" I asked, still fuming over that crazy reckless move she'd just pulled  
Alana shrugged. "Nothing, just that Odette is one powerful bender."  
I looked at Odette's figure, wreathed in red glow of the lava still seething behind the stone shield Odette has created.  
"I suppose she is…" but she needed to be more careful.

* * * *

Odette:

The next day, the volcano was still smoking but no longer erupting. The night had passed too quickly, between saving the village and getting all the people back in their homes.  
By midday Alana, Kole, and I were all standing in the square where Aunt Wu and the people had assembled. We were preparing to leave, but not before we said out goodbyes to the town.  
I stood in front of Aunt Wu to address her, offering her back the cloud book I "borrowed."  
I sheepishly looked at the ground as I apologized. "By the way, we kind of borrowed your book."  
Aunt Wu glared sharply. "So you messed with the clouds did you!"  
She grabbed the book in anger and I cringed. Behind me, Kole looked guilty while Alana smiled and pointed at her, indicating that she was in on the cloud manipulation too.  
Aunt Wu suddenly began to laugh. "Very clever!"  
I laughed and hugged her. This woman had given me so much. She'd given me faith in my destiny…I would survive this war, and I would have a life with someone. She rekindled my hope in Ren too. I had been right all along. Even if I lost faith in him one day, Ren and I would end up together one way or another. There was no other man on this earth who had a scar like she described, and there was no other man I wanted to be with.  
"No offense, but I hope this taught everyone a lesson about not relying too much on fortunetelling," Alana said.  
"But Aunt Wu predicted the village wouldn't be destroyed, and it wasn't. She was right, after all," the calm man said, his goofy grin still on his face.  
Alana got right in the calm man's face. "I hate you."  
Kole took Alana by the shoulders. "It's ok, Alana. Everything's gonna be all right."  
Yes, it most certainly was.


	16. Chapter 15: Cato of the Water Tribe

Odette:

We stopped flying when we reached a distant shoreline. The surf broke against jagged rocks that jutted out of the ocean close to shore. With nothing better to do, we decided to fan out and explore.  
I was walking alongside Alana, looking around boardly, when something suddenly flashed out of the corner of my eye.  
Nearby, a water tribe blade had been stuck in the ground in a forested area. I reached down and picked up the blade as Alana came up behind me.  
"Hey look! A sword made out of a whale's tooth," I said.  
Alana grabbed it. "Lemme see that."  
Alana walked forward, examining the blade quietly.  
"This is a water tribe weapon," she said after a moment. "See if you can find anything else."  
Kole came over to us by that point, twiddling a stick around his fingers. "Did someone lose something?"  
"No, we found something," I replied, looking in a bush for anything else that looked water tribeish.  
I looked over at Alana who was brushing away some leaves from a broken arrow on the ground. She picked it up and inspected it.  
She frowned, her blue eyes darkening. "It's burned."  
She threw it away and walked over to a tree with burn marks.  
"There was a battle. Water tribe warriors ambushed a group of firebenders," she said, brushing her dark almost black hair behind and ear.  
She looked down at the ground and began to walk downhill as she interpreted the signs left in the earth.  
"The firebenders fought back, but the warriors drove them down this hill…" she said.  
She suddenly ran down the hill with Kole and I in tow. We soon came back to the beach and Alana stopped, looking around.  
After a moment I got board and decided to break the silence. "So then what happened?"  
She shrugged. "I don't know. The trail ends here."  
Kole gasped and pointed to the right. "Wait! Look!"  
We followed his gesture to see a beached water tribe boat off in the distance.  
"It's one of our boats!" Alana cried as we drew closer, our feet kicking up white sand as we raced along the beach. When we finally reached it, we stared up at it, delighted expressions on both Kole and Alana's faces.  
"Is this...Dad's boat?" Kole asked, panting a little bit and sounding like he dared not to believe what he was seeing.  
Alana rubbed the ship's prow and smiled. "No, but it's from his fleet. Dad was here."

Ren:

I stared in utter boredom at Uncle Ira's face. He was drinking tea and prattling about useless things as usual. We were sitting at a table in a cabin on my ship, trying to relax or whatever it was he had called it. Uncle Ira poured me some tea after he took another sip.  
"Ahh!" he sighed, his eyes glazed over with delight. "See, Prince Ren, a moment of quiet is good for your mental well being."  
I considered his words for a moment and had to admit it was pretty nice to just sit and think about nothing for once. Maybe I didn't have to be so bitter to everyone all the time…  
As I raised the cup to drink, a shock suddenly caused it to splash the hot tea all over my face. My skin tingled from the burning drink and I wiped it away and got up from table, making angry noises as my calmness evaporated and transformed into raging irritation once again.  
On the foredeck, I found that a young, dark haired woman had appeared on deck, riding a disgustingly hideous, massive monster. Members my crew scattered as the monster climbed the railing and onto the deck.  
"Get back! We're after a stowaway," the woman snarled. Her eyes blazed like two green emeralds and her hair was as hark as a raven's wing, long and flowing until it reached the top of her waist. Her skin was pale, almost white, and her lips were stained a dark blood red color. She had a dark red, snake shaped tattoo on her left upper forearm which was frighteningly muscled for such a small woman. Her nails were colored in black in and were long and sharp looking, Her slight face was brooding and serious. She was dressed in black and brown leather clothes and knee high leather boots. She had her ridiculously long hair tied back slightly in a red hair band but left down slightly so that some of it slightly covered one of her eyes, giving her face a dark and dangerous appearance.  
I glared furiously and stomped up to her. "There are no stowaways on my ship."  
The monster, a shirshu, proceeded to rip out a chunk of deck plating and hurled it aft.  
Great. Now I'm going to have to waste more time and get that replaced.  
The shirshu stuck its head into the gaping hole, it's nose twitching as it left a trails of saliva. Suddenly it snarled furiously and a scrawny man crawled out onto the foredeck where the shirshu quickly whipped the back of his neck with its tongue. He fell instantly onto the deck, conscious but paralyzed, with Uncle Ira and I looking on in shock.  
"He's paralyzed," I said, sunned.  
The woman walked over and picked the man up. "Only temporarily. The toxins'll wear off in about an hour. But by then he'll be in jail and I'll have my money."  
I gaped at her, still wondering how she knew. "But how did you find him on my ship?"  
The woman petted her monster as she got back in the saddle. "My shirshu can smell a rat a continent away."  
"Well, I'm impressed," Uncle said, admiring her.  
Ugh, gross.  
She cracked her whip and the shirshu bolted off the ship and down the dock.  
"Very impressed," Uncle continued, stroking his chin.  
A continent away huh? Well, that just made finding the girl a heck of a lot easier…

Alana:

I stared up at the full moon, lost in though. We were all in front of the water tribe boat we'd found on the beach earlier, with Fang resting his furry head sleepily on my folded knee. Kole and Odette were asleep, with Emrys snoring lazily behind them.  
I smiled slightly as I watched my brother and the Avatar. He was so falling for that girl, and it wasn't hard to see why. She was smart, pretty, powerful, compassionate…probably the most perfect example of a human being I had ever seen. And it was no surprise that Ren was falling for her too from what I had seen, and probably for the same exact reasons if not more.  
I sighed as I played with a rock by my feet. There was no way it would work between her and my brother, as much as I wished it would. That girl was too wild and spirited to ever be with someone like Kole - he was too tame, too safe. She needed someone who could match her fire and as much as I hated to admit it - mostly because I hated the guy's guts - but that someone was Ren. And I could tell she liked him too, for some unknown reason. I mean the guy was a monster, but Emrysrently she saw something in the guy that the rest of us didn't. I just hoped that that relationship wouldn't work out either…it would kill my brother. It would be beyond wrong.  
Who knows though, I was probably just over thinking things like usual. I turned my thoughts to more pressing matters, like the fact that we had discovered a place where my dad had been. There was a chance he may still be here.  
I tended the fire in silence, lost in thought. As I stared into the flickering flames, my mind began to wander to a place from long ago…  
…It was daytime on the South Pole. A younger version of me, my face painted for war, struggled to carry a sleeping bag and gear towards the boats. An older man, Kodah, mine and Kole's father, was helping to load a boat. He saw me and walked to me, nothing but love and compassion in his face for me.  
"Alana…" he started but I knew what he was going to say so I cut him off.  
"I'm coming with you," I said.  
He shook his head. "You're not old enough to go to war, Alana, you know that."  
I turned my eyes to pleading ones. "I'm strong! I'm brave! I can fight! Please, Dad!"  
He put a hand on my shoulder. "Being a woman and a warrior is knowing where you're needed the most, and for you right now that's here protecting your brother."  
My eyes watered as I felt my heart breaking. I couldn't lose the one person who had always believed in me to do the things that others said were impossible. "I don't understand."  
"Someday you will," he said. My heart going to pieces, I dropped my sleeping bag and hugged my father. "I'm going to miss you so much," he murmured, hugging me tightly.  
I cried and my father's hand rested on my head…  
…In the present, I continued to stare at the fire for another moment before hearing a sound and standing up, startled.  
"Who's there?" I growled into the darkness, ready to take on anyone or anything that came across as a threat to me and my companions.  
A bandaged water tribe man materialized out of the dark and approached the camp.  
"Alana?" a familiar voice said in shock and my heart leapt.  
"Cato?" I clarified, not daring to believe it.  
Odette woke up from behind me, panting as she was jerked out of her deep sleep. "Who the what now?"  
Kole also jumped up. He rubbed his eyes, blinking in shock at the man before him. "Cato!"  
Cato grinned happily.  
"Alana! Kole!" he cried, hugging us both. "It is so good to see you two! Oh, you've grown so much."  
Odette came over and bowed. "Hi, I'm Odette."  
I interrupted her, to eager to let Cato answer her. "Where's Dad?"  
Kole jumped to my side, just as anxious. "Is he here?"  
Cato's smile fell and he shook his head. "No, he and the other warriors should be in the eastern Earth Kingdom by now."  
The suddenly wind picked up and we all shivered.  
"Brr! This is no place for a reunion. Let's get inside," Cato said.  
He put his arms around mine and Kole's shoulder and motioned for Odette to follow.  
Surprisingly, not too far from where we had discovered the arrow head, there was a path a little ways deeper into the woods. We followed the path for what I judged to be half an hour before we reached what looked like a monastery complex. As Cato chatted with us animatedly, we walked in through the main gate.  
"After I was wounded, your father carried me to this abbey. The sisters have cared for me ever since," he said and turned to one of the nearby women. "Superior, these are Kodah's children. They've been traveling with the Avatar. I found them by my boat."  
Superior bowed. "Young Avatar, it gives me great joy to be in your presence. Welcome to our abbey."  
Odette bowed in return. "Thank you! It's truly an honor to be here. If there's anything –"  
I cut her off, a familiar scent reaching me. "What smells so good, Cato?"  
Cato laughed. "The sisters craft ointments and perfumes."  
I frowned. "Perfume? Maybe we could dump some on Emrys? Because she stinks so much! Am I right?"  
Cato and Kole were not amused.  
Cato shook his head. "You have your father's wit."  
He turned and opened a wooden door to reveal his home.  
Kole smiled and looked around happily. "Cato! It looks like home!"  
I couldn't help but join in on his enthusiasm. "Everything's here, even the pelts!"  
As my brother and I examined the comforts of the room, Odette stood holding Fang, looking a little disconcerted.  
"Yeh, nothing's more comforting than dead animal skins…" she said uncomfortably. Oh right she was an animal lover…blech.  
Fang hopped down and examined the head of a bear skin rug. The mouth of the bear closed suddenly, scaring him into climbing back up into Odette's arms. Kole and I went over to a pot over the fire in the center of the room. Kole opened it and then looked at me to his left, with Baton sitting down on the opposite side of the fire.  
"No way! Stewed sea prunes?" he gaped and my mouth watered hungrily.  
Cato laughed at our faces. "Help yourself."  
"Dad could eat a whole barrel of these things," I said, smiling at the memory of him.  
Kole put some in bowl and handed it to Odette. She sniffed it and made a sound of disgust. She sat back from the group and put the untouched bowl of stew beside her. As the conversation continued, Fang tasted the stew, spat it back out and ran away.  
Those two were crazy. I turned my attention back to Cato and Kole.  
"Cato, is it true you and Dad lassoed an arctic hippo?" Kole was asking.  
Cato nodded "It was your father's idea. He just dragged me along. Well, the hippo did the dragging."  
Odette popped up from behind us but we paid no mine to her. "Hey, I ride animals too! One time there was this giant eel –"  
"So who was it that came up with the great blubber fiasco?" I asked, smirking.  
Cato laughed. "You knew about that?"  
Kole shook his head. "Everyone does."  
"What's that story?" Odette asked.  
I waved my hand. "It's a long one, Odette, some other time."  
"You and Dad had so many hilarious adventures," Kole said, chuckling.  
Cato grinned. "Not all of which were hilarious at the time, but everything's funny with hindsight." He looked over my shoulder and his face hardened slightly. "Odette, put that down," he said and I turned to see Odette wearing some kind of animal skin headdress. "It's ceremonial and very fragile."  
Odette put it back on the wall and walked off dejected while we continued.  
"Was it you or Dad that put an octopus on your head and convinced Gran-Gran you were a water spirit?" I asked, remembering the look on her face.  
"Your dad wore the octopus, but I did the spooky voice," he said, twiddling his fingers at me and I burst out laughing, happy for the first time in a long time.

Ren:

Later that night, my uncle and I headed towards a squat, three story building with multiple windows. I had spent the better part of my day trying to find out where I could find my bounty hunter. The locals at the village nearby said she usually spent her spare time at a tavern not too far away and that her name was Sage.  
Even from a distance, it was clear that the building was packed with people - probably just the scum of the Earth Kingdome. As we approached the front door, I spotted Sage's shirshu to the right side of the tavern. I eyed the beast calculatingly, grinning as I thought of how quickly I would reach the girl once I had that thing under my control.  
A few other patrons of the establishment could be seen through foggy windows as we drew closer. The smell emitting from the place was downright disturbing and everything screamed filth and grime. Suddenly someone got thrown through the wall above the door, landing in front of us and crying out painfully upon impact.  
I smirked and walked right over him, loudly popping some of his joints as I did so, before I continued up to the front door. I slammed it open and stepped in, my uncle following closely behind me as I scanned the jam packed room for Sage. The tavern was filled to capacity with revelers, making it hard to find anyone in the place.  
I walked deeper into the tavern and caught a glimpse of a tattoo of a curled red snake on someone's right shoulder.  
Sage.  
She was arm-wrestling a beefy man, her straight teeth grit in false determination. The beefy man was sweating in his attempt to best the beautiful bounty hunter. She did not even appear to be trying. Smirking triumphantly, I forced my way through the crowd, shoving people out of my way.  
"Out of my way! Step aside, filth!" I snarled when someone didn't move in time.  
Uncle Ira followed in my wake with a smile, addressing the people I'd just thrust aside.  
"He means no offense! I'm sure you bathe regularly," he said and I rolled my eyes. Idiot.  
Uncle and I easily reached the table where Sage and the man were still wrestling. During our conversation the beefy man continued to grunt and struggle against Sage's grip.  
"I need to talk to you," I barked.  
She cast a bored, sideways glance at us. "Well, if it isn't my new friends, Angry Boy and Uncle Lazy."  
Uncle laughed heartily for a moment before Sage ended the contest with one swift movement. The crowd erupted and a lot of money changed hands, much of it ending up in a big pile in front of Sage.  
I slammed my fist down on the table, not appreciating her ignorant attitude. "Your beast trashed my ship. You have to pay me back."  
Sage raked in the pile of coins. "Aww, I'd love to help you out, but I'm a little short on money."  
She smirked and looked to the crowd and cried, "Drinks on me!"  
All the people in the crowd became ecstatic. "YEHHH!"  
Fed up with her by this point, I grabbed her hand as she raised her cup to her lips. "Money isn't what I had in mind."  
She narrowed her eyes at me before she rolled her eyes and set down her drink. I grabbed her wrist and yanked her up, pulling her out of the tavern with my Uncle in tow. I expected her to fight back but she just followed after me with an amused expression. Ugh, she was one creepy lady.  
I stopped outside the front door of the tavern. Moths flew around it, buzzing drunkly around our faces as Sage stood with her arms folded crossly over her chest. When I was sure no one was looking, I held out the water tribe peasant's necklace.  
"I need you to find someone," I said simply.  
Sage looked at the necklace before smirking. "What happened? Your girlfriend run off on you?"  
I glared, my eyes flashing in annoyance. "She's not my girlfriend. But I do need to find her."  
Sage shrugged, amused again by my reaction. "Whatever you say."  
I ignored her. "If you find them, I'll consider the damage to my ship paid for."  
Sage snorted. "Heh! Forget it."  
She turned and began to climb into her saddle.  
Uncle Ira stepped up. "Plus we'll pay your weight in gold."  
She smiled, got down, and walked over to Uncle.  
Sage jabbed one of her clawed fingers at his chest, sneering. "Make it your weight and we got a deal."  
Uncle laughed. "You got it!"  
Sage grabbed the necklace from my hand with a sigh. "Get on."  
She walked over to the shirshu and let it smell the necklace. It's head swiveled from side to side and slobbered, it's mouth full of razor sharp teeth as it growled. Sage jumped into the saddle in front of Uncle and I and we took off, the road below us flying away beneath the beast's feat…

Odette:

I listened tiredly as Cato began to speak for about the bazillionth time. I hadn't been able to say a peep to anyone all night so I basically just had Fang for company. I was still slumped against the wall, away from the others and my eyes were starting to slip shut.  
"There's something I should tell you kids. I'm expecting a message from your father," Cato said and I looked up, curious. I would love to meet their father; I'd heard so much about him.  
Kole perked up. "Really?"  
Alana looked like she would start dancing. "When?"  
"Any day now. Your father said he'd send a message when they found the rendezvous point. If you wait here until the message arrives you can come with me and see your father again," Cato said, smiling at their excited faces.  
My heart plummeted.  
I straightened up at this and looked over at my friends, worried that I might lose them.  
Alana sighed longingly. "It's been over two years since we've seen Dad! That would be so incredible. Kole?"  
Kole nodded his head, staring at his hands folded in his lap. "I do really miss him. It would be great to see Dad…"  
I looked away, downcast at this, loneliness and worry filling my thoughts. I walked out of the room and shut the door behind me and walked down the road away from the abbey.  
How could they do this to me! They were supposed to help me, not leave me alone when in needed them most. I couldn't do this on my own!  
My thoughts continued to spin darkly until I eventually wandered onto the beach. I didn't stop walking until I bumped into something with enough force to make me stumble back a few steps.  
It was the water tribe boat.  
Furious, I kicked it as hard as I could. I wished we'd never even discovered the stupid thing. I stood there glaring at it for the longest time, but then I got a hold of myself and started to calm down somewhat. The anger was gone, and it was now replaces with a cold sadness that echoed through every part of me. Feelings broken inside, I jumped up and sat huddled on the prow of Cato's boat.  
"I can't believe they would leave me," I said, to no one in particular.  
I looked up at the sound of a messenger approaching on some kind of bipedal lizard.  
"I'm looking for Cato of the Water Tribe," he said, his face hard.  
I glanced around uncertainly. "Uh, I know Cato."  
The Messenger gave me a scroll. "Make sure he gets this."  
Then he rode off without another word, leaving me staring after him curiously. After a moment, my curiosity got the better of me and I opened the scroll to reveal a map.  
I stared at it for a moment before I finally realized what it was. "It's the map to Alana and Kole's Dad!"  
Knowing it was wrong to do so, I crumpled it in anger, stuffed it into my left sleeve, and crouched back down. I was not loosing Kole and Alana.  
A cold wind blew through me and I shived, goose bumbs spreading across my exposed skin. I sighed and decided I should probably head back. I didn't want anyone to get worried…of course they probably hadn't even noticed I'd left.  
When I returned, Alana, Kole and Cato were still sitting around the fire.  
"Hey everyone! Sorry I was gone so long," I said, trying to be smooth. I had to make sure that they didn't suspect that I'd been the one to take the map, or even that it had been taken in the first place.  
Kole turned slightly. "Hey Odette, I didn't notice you left."  
Figures.  
"Yup, but now I'm back. Sure...could go for some delicious sea prunes!" I said with exaggerated happiness.  
I sat down, grabbed a bowl and began to munch. It tasted worse than it smelled. After a few seconds, I choked and spat them back out before they could come up again. The three water tribe members all looked at me strangely and I smiled back sheepishly.

Ren:

We reached a deserted town on a hillside somewhere in the Earth Kingdome around midday. At the base of the hill in the old, decrepit town square, a Herbalist was crouched near the ground, harvesting some plants. Near her was a fluffy white cat, who tensed and hissed at the sound of the shirshu approaching. The Herbalist rose and the old woman looked at the three of us atop the shirshu.  
"Out for a bit of fresh air, are we?" she asked us, completely unafraid.  
Foolish.  
"We're looking for someone," I growled, trying to keep from taking my frustration out on her too much.  
"I hope it's not Miyuki." She looked down at her cat. "Miyuki, did you get in trouble with the Fire Nation again?"  
The cat meowed and backed away.  
Sage's eyes narrowed at the shirshu started sniffing the ground, grunting and growling as it did so. "The Avatar's been through here. Let's keep moving."  
She cracked her whip and the shirshu took off once again.

Odette:

The next day I was standing outside the abbey's exterior while Emrys was lying down munching away on hay. Near another huge pile, I airbent another load in front of her, and she took a huge bite.  
Pig.  
I smiled at her and stretched, my heart freezing as the map fell out of my sleeve. Panicked, I dove for the crumpled map but another hand picked it up.  
I straightened and met the eyes of a sister, startled. "Ha! I caught you! You should be ashamed of yourself…" I looked down, guilty and afraid "...littering in the courtyard."  
Surprised and relieved, I took the map she offered to me. "I'm sorry! I'll take care of this."  
I bowed nervously and the sister walked off. When she was gone, I swiftly stuffed the map back under my hood.  
Later on that day, Alana, Kole, Cato, and I were all walking through the woods that ended back on the beach. We were heading toward his boat, for some sight seeing or something.  
Cato was chattering animatedly with Alana and Kole while I trailed behind, not really getting a chace to say anything.  
"This ship is sentimental to me. It was built by my father," he said as we walked long the beach, the boat close by this point.  
I looked down and started when I saw the tracks of the messenger's beast. I quickly airbent the entire trail away, then turned back to the others, whistling guiltily.  
They didn't even notice.  
"Is this the boat he took you ice-dodging in?" Alana asked.  
Cato nodded. "Yeh, it's got the scar to prove it. Huh. How about you, Alana? You must have some good stories from your first time ice-dodging?"  
Kole patted his sister's shoulder as her face fell. "She never got to go. Dad left before she was old enough.  
Cato sighed uncomfortably. "Oh, I forgot, you were too young."  
"What's ice-dodging?" I asked.  
Cato turned to me, including me in the conversation for the first time.  
"It's a rite of passage for young water tribe members. When you turn sixteen your Dad takes you...you know what," he said, putting a hand on Alana's shoulder, who looked downcast. "You're about to find out."  
Alana smiled excitedly.

Ren:

We reached a mighty lava floe, hardened to stone, that surround a small village, ominous, but harmless.  
As the ferocious looking shirshu clawed it's way into the main square, people ran in all directions, screaming, fleeing the shirshu and its riders.  
An old woman stood still, leaning against a house, looking serene, if not entirely pleased. The shirshu ran around for a few moments before it spun and stopped right in front of the old woman's house and continued sniffing around..  
I glared in annoyance at the stupid animal, wanting to keep moving. "Why are we stopping?"  
Sage glared at my tone and I glared right back at her, daring her to challenge me. "Because the girl must of spent a lot of time here."  
I growled and grabbed the necklace from Sage's hand. "We have no time for this!"  
I got down and showed the shirshu the necklace again. I narrowly avoided getting zapped by its tongue.  
"Hey, watch it!" I snarled, tempted to barbeque the beast and have a nice meal.  
Uncle Ira laughed while Sage smirked.  
"Oh look, he likes you," she purred mockingly.  
I rolled my eyes as I got back up onto the saddle. I looked over to see the old woman looking up at Uncle.  
"Care to hear your fortune, handsome?" she asked.  
Uncle smiled. "At my age there is really only one big surprise left, and I'd just as soon leave it a mystery."  
Sage whipped the shirshu, and we took off once again as Aunt Wu watched, her eyes narrowing suspiciously as she watched me.

Kole:

Cato's boat cut through the waves near the shore. Treacherous rocks were visible both in front and behind us. I was so glad that Cato had offered to take Alana out…I meant the world to her and I was happy that my sister was getting some attention for one. She deserved it more than anyone.  
"Ice-dodging is a ceremonial test of wisdom, bravery and trust. In our village it was done by weaving a boat through a field of icebergs," Cato was saying to Odette. I felt a little bad that I had been ignoring her for the past few days but I would just have to make it up to her later…right now I needed to put all my attention into this test.  
Alana frowned, looking around. "How are we supposed to ice-dodge without ice?"  
Cato smirked. "You will be dodging...those."  
He pointed ahead and I looked forward to the path ahead of the boat where a veritable thicket of stalagmite like rocks laid in wait.  
I gulped uncertainly as Cato left the tiller while Alana and I moved aft.  
"Alana, you steer and call the shots. Lead wisely. Kole, you secure the mainsail. The winds can be brutal, so be brave. Odette, you control the jib, without your steady hand we all go down. Your position is about trust," he said.  
Odette's grey eyes widened I alarm and she started looking around, nervous and guilty. "I know that! Why wouldn't I know that? I'm the Avatar! I know about trust."  
She pouted and folded her hands across her chest. Weird. I frowned in confusion but didn't say anything.  
Cato walked over to the bow and sat down.  
"For this to be done right I cannot help. You pass or fail on your own," he said, nodding at Alana who looked at him with nothing but determination.  
Alana stood ready at the tiller while Odette and I held on to our respective sails. We all wore the same frightened expression as the ship sped towards the rocks. After a moment, Alana's expression hardened and she grit her teeth. I knew how desperate she was to prove herself, and she knew this was her only chance.  
"Odette, ease up on the jib. Kole, steady! Odette, less sail!" she barked, sweating as she pulled the tiller to her right. "Kole, give her room!"  
Odette hauled the rope as the ship weaved in and out of the rocks.  
"Odette! Helm to lee! Helm to lee!" Alana shouted.  
Odette looked scared out of her mind. "What does that even mean!?"  
We all struggled against our loads and the ship narrowly missed a huge pile of rock.  
Alana breathed in relief. "Great job!"  
The ship entered a cul de sac, ringed by jagged rocks, at high speed. I looked around hopelessly as Cato stood up behind me, pride in his eyes.  
"There's no way through!" I told her, praying she would listen to me.  
Course not.  
"We can make it!" she growled fiercely.  
Cato shook his head. "Alana, you've already proven yourself, maybe we should –"  
Alana ignored us both and began snapping orders again. "Odette, I'm gonna need air in that sail! Kole, I want you to bend as much water as you can between us and those rocks! Now!"  
Odette and I jumped to it. Odette started pushing wave after wave of air into the sail, while I raised the ship up on an accelerating wave of water. The wave barely carried the speeding ship safely over the ring of jagged rocks. Alana fell back on the tiller with a sigh of relief, and Odette and I smiled at her proudly. Once we were all back on the beach, we stood before Cato in a line. He was holding a bowl of black paint in one of his bandaged hands as he faced us. He dipped two fingers into the bowl and scooped some of the paint out.  
"The spirits of water bear witness to these marks. For Alana, the mark of the wise, the same mark your father earned," he said proudly as he marked Alana's head with dot and a half circle mark above it.  
"For Kole, the mark of the brave. Your courage inspires us," he said and marked my head with a crescent shaped mark. I felt like I was going to burst with the pride that welled up inside of me.  
"And for Odette, the mark of the trusted. You are now an honorary member of the water tribe," Cato finished, smiling fondly at her.  
He marked Odette's forehead with a half circle mark.  
Her beautiful face suddenly crumpled. "I can't."  
Silly girl.  
I smiled at her. "Of course you can!"  
Odette rubbed off the mark. "No, you can't trust me."  
She backed away, her head hung low so that her long brown hair hid her face from me.  
I was totally lost. "Odette, what are you talking about."  
She held out the crumpled scroll. "A messenger gave this to me for Cato."  
I looked at the scroll and drew in a breath of surprise.  
She looked up, her mesmerizing grey eyes filled with guilt. "You have to understand, I was afraid you'd –"  
Alana looked at the map, and then Odette in hurt and surprise. "This is the map to our father! You had it the whole time!? How could you?"  
Odette shriveled up.  
"Well, you can go to the North Pole on your own! I'm going to find Dad," Alana snarled, her voice filled with betrayal.  
I knew Alana was just stung by Odette's actions; she had really become attached to Odette and trusted her almost as much as she trusted me. Even I was hurt by what she had been keeping from me. She knew how much we missed our father…how could she do this!  
Alana stalked away angrily.  
Cato tried to reason with her even though we all knew it was pointless. "Now Alana, I think you should –"  
"Kole, are you with me?" she snapped, her eyes blazing into mine.  
No, I automatically thought. I would never leave Odette, no matter what. But right now, I knew my sister needed me more and would go berserk if I told her no.  
I looked at Odette, then lowered my eyes. "I'm with you, Alana."  
I turned away and Cato followed, leaving Odette alone on the beach.  
I'm sorry…

Odette:

I had never felt so in my life before.  
I watched, my heart throbbing painfully in my chest, as the three water tribe members put backpacks on in the abbey's main courtyard. I was sitting on Emrys not too far away from them, preparing to leave. I wasn't welcome around here anymore.  
Kole walked sadly over to me.  
"Good luck," he sighed, giving me a small, half-hearted smile.  
I nodded, trying to keep a straight face. "Okay. You too."  
He walked out of the gate of the abbey without another glance, Cato and Alana following. The Superior approached me, and I turned to her, wincing at her dark expression.  
"Guess I should be moving on," I said awkwardly.  
"That would be best," she replied, bitter.  
I shook Emrys's reigns, and she walked us out of the gate, her tail dragging on the ground behind her. From the driver's seat, I looked to my left at the retreating figures of my friends in the distance. Fang put his head on my lap sadly and I patted his grey wolf ear's.  
"I'm an idiot, Fang," I groaned, kicking myself for the billionth time.

Kole:

Alana, Cato, and I were walking along a dirt road, none of us speaking, all of us somber. In the distance, the broken cry of a wolf echoed through the trees hollowly, ringing with despair and sadness. We stopped to listen.  
"That wolf sounds so sad," I said, but really I was thinking of my own feelings.  
Alana shrugged. "It's probably wounded."  
"No, it's been separated from the pack. I understand that pain. It's how I felt when the water tribe warriors had to leave me behind. They were my family and being apart from them was more painful than my wounds," Cato said, his eyes clouding with pain.  
Alana hung her head, her face just as pained. We started walking again but Alana didn't move. After a moment, I turned back slightly, wondering what was wrong this time.  
"Alana?" I asked, trying to get her attention.  
Alana looked at me after a pause. "We need to go back. I want to see Dad, but helping Odette is where we're needed the most."  
"You're right," I said, smiling and relived beyond belief. I wanted nothing more than to find Odette and continue our journey. Besides, that girl needed a bodyguard if she was ever going to get anywhere.  
Cato came over and put a hand on each of our shoulders. "Your father will understand. And I know he's proud of you."  
"Thanks, Cato," Alana said, smiling sadly.  
"I know where to go from here," he said and gave Alana the map. "Take this in case you want to find us. I'll leave a message at the rendezvous point."

Odette:

"Looks like we're going alone, guys," I sighed as we prepared to take off. We were at the beach near Cato's boat.  
"Yip y-"  
"Avatar! You must leave!" someone shouted behind me, making me jump in fright. I turned slightly to see the Superior rushing up to me, panting heavily.  
Annoyed, I rolled my eyes. "Okay, I get it. Everybody wants me gone."  
The Superior shook her head, her eyes wide with panic. "A group of people came to the abbey looking for you."  
"Who?" I asked, alarmed.  
"A fierce looking woman with a horrible monster and a young man with a scar," she said,  
I gasped. "Ren!"  
I had a strange mix of excitement fill me, excitement to see him. But mostly, that excitement was buried by absolute fear. Even though I was still keeping Aunt Wu's words in mind, I wasn't stupid enough to go running into his arms. We could barely stand to be on the same continent without practically killing each other for heaven sakes! I didn't trust him…whatever Aunt Wu predicted didn't matter to me unless he changed. And once again, he was a threat, causing damage and bringing harm to innocent people. He had to be stopped.  
"The beast was using the scent of a necklace to follow you," the Superior said and I frowned.  
"A necklace?" What would Ren want with a necklace? My eyes suddenly flew wide. "Huh! Kole!"

Kole:

We were sill walking down the road to the abbey when Alana suddenly motioned for me to stop. Confused, I looked around, wondering what had gotten her to look so nervous. As the silence deeped around us, I was able to make out a distant galloping sound that grew louder and closer by the second. Suddenly, a massive snarling beast jumped out of the trees and landed right behind us. Startled, we immediately broke into a run, the monster and its riders in hot pursuit. We didn't get that far though because the beast knocked a tree down in front of us, blocking our escape and cornering us.  
My eyes widened in alarm as I recognized Ren and Ira up on top of what I now recognized as a shirshu. Next to them, at the reigns, was a fierce looking, dark haired woman.  
I pushed Alana behind me, putting myself between her and our attackers, much to her annoyance. Thankfully though, she had enough sense not to argue with me right now.  
Ren jumped down and stomped over to us, glaring at me. "Where is she? Where's the Avatar?"  
"We split up! She's long gone," Alana spat defiantly from behind me.  
"How stupid do you think I am?" he snarled back, taking a threatening step toward her.  
Alana shrugged. "Pretty stupid." She then grabbed me by the arm. "Run!"  
We took off, sprinting as fast as we could down the road, but the shirshu flicked it's barbed tongue out and lashed both of us across our backs. The tongue sliced cleanly through our clothes and cut into our skin. In a matter of seconds, the toxins kicked in and we crumbled to the ground, paralyzed.  
Ren, just as surprised by the turn of events as we were, looked to the dark haired woman. "What are we supposed to do now?"  
The beast lifted it's head and started rooting around, it's wet pink nose twitching.  
"It's seeking a different scent – perhaps something that the Avatar held," the woman said.  
The shirshu moved forward and started sniffing Alana and I. The map scroll fell out of Alana's backpack and rolled onto the ground. She beast snarled and salivated as it stared straight ahead, looking up the path that led directly to the abbey.

Odette:

After the Superior had come to me, I'd returned to the abbey in a matter of minutes. I was now currently on one of the roofs, staying hidden and lying in wait for Ren to return. I didn't have to wait long. No more than ten minutes after I had returned, a monstrous shirshu thundered into the courtyard, sending sisters running away screaming in all directions and blowing down the hastily repaired gate. My eyes zeroed in on Ren, Ira, and a dark haired woman who was with them. The shirshu began walking around, sniffing.  
Ren glared at it with an annoyed expression. "What's it doing? It's just going around in a circle!"  
Just as the beast looked up, I leaped into the air with my glider. I flew up to the monster, which jumped up to snap at me. He missed, but did manage to dump his riders onto the floor of the courtyard as I landed safely on the other side of him. The shirshu also fell flat on his back, almost crushing a paralyzed Kole and Alana.  
"Odette!" Kole said in relief as I walked over to him.  
"So this is your girlfriend," the dark haired woman said, staring at me before smirking at Ren. "No wonder she left. She's way too pretty for you."  
Girlfriend? What!  
The woman got up and whipped the ground. The shirshu clambered to it's feet and roared, the woman jumping onto its back.  
They charged after me full force and I gasped, knowing that I had no time to react. Right before impact though, Emrys came our of nowhere and plowed right into the shirshu, pushing him and his rider away from me. They plowed into the wall of a building, knocking a hole through it. She breathed heavily out her nostrils and her front and back claws flexed, digging into the ground as her dragon's tail twitched in satisfaction.  
My smile turned to alarm though as I turned away from Emrys to face Ren, whose hands were alight with fire as he advanced on me. He fired a huge gout of flame at me, and I blocked it by twirling my staff to break it up. We traded several rounds of blows, all of which missed or were blocked. Finally, we both fired volleys simultaneously and were blown backwards onto the roofs behind us.  
I landed flat on my back, knocking the wind out of me and making me gasp for air. Unable to move just yet, I turned my head slightly to see the dark haired woman next to the shirshu, both unconscious. Ira rushed up to the bounty hunter and patted the side of her face. She woke up, rose to her feet, and cracked her whip and said something unintelligible.  
Then shirshu rose to its feet, she jumped in the saddle, and they headed back into battle. They charged Emrys who was on the other side of the courtyard. She soared into the air as they reached her, but the shirshu lashed Emrys's tail with his tongue. She landed on the other side of the courtyard and struggled to stay standing, but failed. She collapsed in a cloud of dust, her golden brown wings fanned out beside her. After a moment of not moving, she finally managed to scramble to her feet. The monsters charged each other after the woman whipped the shirsu again, and they had a head on collision, throwing the woman over Emrys's head, whom she whipped as she passed. She landed on the ground and rolled away just as Emrys's foot planted itself deep into the ground where she had just been.  
Shaking my spinning head, I got up groggily from where I'd fallen on the roof. My eyes went wide as I focused on Ren charging me down the spine of the roof. He threw a blast of fire at me and I quickly flipped over Ren's head to land behind him. We exchanged blows and I eventually managed to knock him off the roof. He was instantly replaced, however, when the woman and the shirshu jumped onto the roof and pursued me. Below, Emrys started beating her massive eagle wings to create a gale that blew tiles off the roof as the shirshu passed.  
Just below me, Kole and Alana were leaning up against the wall of the abbey. Alana was wiggling her arm a bit.  
"I'm starting to get some feeling back!" I heard her say excitedly as a bunch of tiles fell on them. "Ow!"  
I jumped down off the roof and started running toward a well in the center of the courtyard. Finally, Emrys was able to get the shirshu away from me and I barely had a moment to recover before Ren and I began dueling once again, this time the covered well between us. We traded more volleys for a bit before I suddenly saw Kole's mother's necklace in Ren's hand.  
Ugh, why couldn't he just be good person? Was that too much to ask for? Why, of all people, did I have to fall for the one man I hated more than any person I had ever hated before?  
"You've got something I want!" I growled angrily.  
We traded more volleys again and Ren soon destroyed the well's covering with a shout of frustration as I danced around him. We danced around on the lip of the well, neither one of us able to gain decisive advantage over the other. I kept trying to grab the necklace, but failed.  
Suddenly, Ren lunged after me and missed. As he passed, I jumped into the air and put my foot through the loop of the necklace, catching it and pulling it into my hand before I started to fall again. I then disappeared down the well, with Ren firing a huge gout of flame after me in frustration. I blocked the fire and used my water bending, launching Ren into the air as I reappeared atop a huge jet of water and landed in front of the well. Rain from the huge jet of water began to fall around me, quickly followed by Ren hitting the ground.  
Ren got up, furious and the duel began anew, but this time Emrys advanced threateningly on him before he could get near me. Before Emrys could strike him, however, the shirshu lashed her three times in a row with his tongue. Emrys tried to stay up, but couldn't. She keeled over, paralyzed.  
I glanced over at Alana and Kole, hoping they were staying safe and away from all this. The Superior came over and put some kind of perfume under their noses and they were then able to move better.  
Alana got up, flexing her arm. "That thing sees with its nose. Let's give him something to look at."  
Superior cocked her head to the side. "The perfume?"  
Alana nodded and I had to admit it was the perfect plan. I was just about to head over and help them when suddenly and arm wrapped around my waist and lifted me off the ground. I immediately began kicking and fighting back. The arm loosened around me and I tried to sprint away only to be dragged back again. Ren's arm locked around my neck, keeping me from going anywhere without pulling my head off.  
"Stop fighting me," he growled in my ear.  
I struggled a bit more before I came up with an idea to get away. Even though I could breath just fine, I pretended to start gasping for air like he was choking me. I clawed at his arms and gasped and coughed.  
"Ren…can't breath…" I gasped in a feigned horse voice but he only tightened his arm more.  
"Nice try, I know what you're doing," he scoffed as he began to drag me off.  
Of course he did. I needed to kick it up a notch. I gripped onto his forearm, feebly trying to pry it away before I gave up and feigned unconsciousness, becoming a dead weight in his arms. He staggered in surprise before he started shaking me, trying to get me to open my eyes. I had them cracked slightly so that I could barely make him out as I wait for the perfect opportunity to strike. He let me go and I slumped to the ground, my hair falling over my face.  
"Oh no," I heard him gasp when I didn't get up and he stopped down beside me, rolling me over and shaking me, brushing my hair out of my face. "Wake up, Odette! Odette?"  
It was the first time I had ever heard him say my name…I could get used to that. There was real genuine fear on his face and guilt welled up inside of me for causing him that pain. But I had a job to do, no matter how I felt.  
My eyes flashed open and before he could react, I threw him backward with a massive gust of air. He was on his feet and racing toward me in no time and I had barely made it five steps before he grabbed my arm again.  
Just then, pairs of sisters and Alana moved huge white pots of perfume out into the courtyard.  
"Listen-" Ren growled before he was cut off when the sisters dumped the perfume onto the ground, splashing it everywhere.  
Kole waterbent the perfume into a huge sheet, moved it over the shirshu, and dropped it. The monster shook off the liquid and quickly became terribly confused.  
It snarled ferociously and I ducked just as the tongue lashed out and instead hit Ren who was just behind me. He let go of me and fell to the ground in a frozen heap. The beast continued to lash out and Ren was soon joined by the dark haired woman.  
"Sage! Noooo!" Ira called out, rushing forward and catching the falling bounty hunter. I turned back to the rampaging shirshu, not really wanting to be it's next victim.  
It broke open a few more jars, pawed the tiles of the roof of one of the buildings, then jumped over the wall and disappeared.  
Breathing heavily, I picked up my staff, pain lashing through my side from where I had fallen on the roof  
Ugh, yep I'm definitely going to have a bruise there tomorrow, I thought.  
Kole and Alana approached me from behind. Ren and Ira were laying flat on the ground. Ira had Sage draped across his chest, his arm around her.  
Ren blinked at him, dazedly. "Uncle? I didn't see you get hit with the tongue."  
Ira winked and smiled. "Shh!"  
Sage's eyes opened, clearly displeased and I shook my head, holding Ren's gaze for a moment more before I turned back to my friends, trying to keep the pain out of my expressin.  
"Let's get out of here before they start moving again," I said, walking past them with a slight limp. They really did a number on me this time.  
We all got onto Emrys, who had also been revived, and we soared off into a beautiful sunset sky. When the abbey was far behind us, I finally spoke.  
"So, where do we go?" I asked them, ready to take them wherever they wanted to go. Frankly I no longer deserved their company.  
Kole looked at his sister and smiled. "We're getting you to the North Pole."  
Alana nodded, looking at me like I was her long lost sister or something. "Yeh, we've lost too much time as it is."  
I balked. "Don't you want to see your father?"  
Alana sighed. "Of course we do, Odette. But, you're our family too, and right now, you need us more."  
Kole nodded in agreement and hugged me tightly. "And we need you."  
I heard the double meaning in his words and I cleared my throat awkwardly, pulling away.  
"I wish I could give you a little piece of home, Kole. Something to remind you –" I said, sighing dramatically.  
Kole shrugged. "I'll be okay."  
I waved him off. "Still, just a little trinket. Maybe something like...this!"  
I jumped up, proudly offering Kole his mother's necklace, a huge smile on my face.  
Kole grabbed the necklace and happily put it away in his pack where it always stayed. "Odette, how did you get that?"  
I smiled mischievously. "Ren asked to be sure I got it to you."  
"Oh, that's so sweet of Ren. Would you give him a kiss for me when you see him?" he said in mock appreciation.  
"Sure!" I said. There would be no problem with that favor…  
Kole suddenly leaned forward and kissed my cheek. I blushed and twiddles my thumbs, happy to have my friends back.


	17. Chapter 16: The Deserter

Kole:

A few days after our run in with Ren, we became totally and completely lost. We were currently wandering down a forest road, the sun casting red and orange rays across the sky. We would have to make camp soon, but with Ren not too far behind us and who knew what else, I wanted to make sure we were a safe distance away from any civilization.  
In the middle of the road, we discovered a circular notice board. I ran over to inspect, hoping to find a map or something, Odette and Alana following close behind me.  
As I hastily scanned the notice board, Alana stood behind me, emptying a food bag right into her mouth.  
"This should give us a good idea of what's around here," I said, finally finding the map.  
Alana finished with the empty bag and glowered at me. "See if you can find a menu, I'm starving."  
Odette rushed over and pointed at a colorful flyer on the board.  
"I bet we'll find something to eat here! The Fire Days Festival," she said, and started reading it to us. "Fire Nation cultural exhibits...jugglers, benders, magicians. This'd be a great place for me to study some real firebenders!"  
Alana's voice came from other side of the board. "You might wanna rethink that. Look at this."  
Frowning, I walked around to where my sister was staring at a poster solomly. I pulled a distacted Odette behind me until we were both standing next to my sister. The colored flyer on top was a wanted poster of Odette. On the lower right was a wanted poster for the Blue Spirit. On the right was for a white haired man with a nasty looking gash in his face.  
"Hey, a poster of me!" Odette said, smiling in excitement.  
Alana frowned. "A wanted poster. This is bad."  
Odette took the poster off the board as I came and looked at it as well. I leaned a hand on her shoulder and brushed her long dark brown hair out of my way.  
"I think we better keep moving," I said to them. If there were wanted posters of Odette around out, there was a greater chance she would be caught, and I would die before I let that happen. But, to avoid unnecessary trouble, I would rather keep her as faraway from any firebenders as possible.  
Odette frowned at me. "I have to learn firebending at some point, and this could be my only chance to watch a master up close."  
I looked at the ground, unsure. It was so hard to deny her anything…ugh, she was going t be the death of me.  
"I guess we could check it out." I sighed grudgingly.  
Alana gaped at me, shocked. "What!? You want to walk into a Fire Nation town where they're all fired up with all their, you know, fire?"  
I shrugged, knowing there was no point in fighting Odette on this. "We'll wear disguises and if it looks like trouble, we'll leave."  
She smiled at me happily and I walked over to Emrys with her, feeling like I was floating because of that smile.  
"Yeh, because we always leave before we get into trouble," Alana said sarcastically as she followed after us, speaking to no one in particular.  
We stuck to the trees for another hour or so before we finally came out of the forest and stopped on a slight hill. In the distance, the walled Fire Nation town could be seen. It was dusk by this point.  
Odette turned and looked backwards to speak to Emrys and Fang.  
"You guys stay out of sight here while we go to the festival," she said, hugging her eagle tightly. She brushed her hair behind her ear, her grey eyes serious.  
Fang was perched on the birds neck and barked at her unhappily. She gave him a warning look, but jumped and dropped down into a small bush nearby, disappearing from sight. Emrys followed and tried to hide behind the bush, which was about a foot tall. Odette laughed and turned to speak to us.  
"Ready disguises!" she said, her eyes bright with excitement.  
Alana pulled down the hood of a black cloak over her head and I did the same thing. Odette, on the other hand, had only pulled her red hood up over the top of her head in a completely ineffective attempt to change her appearance. She saw us and grinned in some embarrassment.  
Alana looked at her, hands folded, with me laughing beside her.  
"It's like you're a whole different person," Alana said sarcastically.  
Odette shrugged. "Let's go."

Odette:

I gazed around in excitement as we stood in the Fire Nation town and its main square, which was full of people. Overhead, the sky was filled with colorful fireworks. Around us children frolicked, revelers ran by  
in ornate costumes, including several people almost completely concealed in a dragon outfit, and all participants were wearing colorful masks.  
Kole frowned and looked at me with concern. "I think we need some new disguises."  
"Where are we gonna get masks like that?" Alana said, skeptical and annoyed.  
Just then, to the right of us, a merchant's voice boomed out across the square. "Get your genu-ine Fire Festival masks here!"  
"That was surprisingly easy," Alana said as Kole and I ran over to the crazy looking stand.  
Kole paid for three masks and the man waved us forward to pick what we wanted. Alana grabbed a happy mask and I snagged a sad one. Kole studied us for a moment before he leaned forward and switched them, revealing Alana's sour puss face and my wide smile. The masks now matched the temperament of their owners. Laughing, we walked into the square.  
Knowing Alana was starving, I spotted a food stand and pointed ahead. "Hey, there's some food."  
Alana ran ahead without a pause and I chuckled as we followed after her.  
"Finally!" She spoke to the food merchant urgently. "What do you have?"  
"Flaming fire flakes! Best in town," the merchant said encouragingly.  
She stared uncertainly at the little steaming bag in the merchants hand. After a few moments of deliberating, Alana grabbed them eagerly.  
"I'll take'em!"  
She stuffed them in her mouth, then started screaming and blowing steam from her mouth. She partially removed her mask to cool her tongue.  
"Aaahhh! Hot! Hot!" she cried, tears streaming down her cheeks.  
Kole crossed his arms in amusement. "'Flaming fire flakes' hot? What do you know."  
I laughed and looked to my right, spotting a puppet show that looked interesting. "Hey, look at this."  
We walked up and found that the show was just about to begin. The audience was full of small children and no adults no where in sight.  
The curtain of the puppet stage drew open and a puppet of the Fire Lord appeared. My grin immediately turning into a frown. The audience cheered and I made a disgusted face. How could these people love this cruel man so easily? Didn't they realize that when they were old enough he would probably send them to the front lines and have them all slaughtered? No…they had probably all been taught since birth that Mordred was their savior, a hero, their god.  
"Don't worry loyal citizens! No one can surprise the Fire Lord!" the Fire Lord puppet cried.  
Behind him an earthbender puppet rose up, with a rock at the ready to strike the Fire Lord Puppet. The children in the audience started to cry out warnings. The Fire Lord puppet turned suddenly and torched the earthbender puppet with a huge gout of flame. I winced, my eyes wide at the act of brutality. The audience cheered though, Emrysrently enjoying it. Simultaneously Alana, Kole, and I turned away from the puppet show and headed back towards another stage with a large crowd. On this stage, there was a single performer who had a rocking goatee and was dressed in green clothing.  
Kole caught my arm as I hurried forward. "Odette, hold on! Where are we going?"  
I shrugged. "I don't know, but there's a big crowd so it must be good."  
Alana snorted. "Knowing the Fire Nation, it's probably an execution."  
I didn't entirely disagree with her on that.  
We got as close as we could to the stage, which had four thin pillars with fire basins at their tops. The performer was a firebender who was manipulating fire for the crowd's delight. He concluded by extinguishing his fire and producing a small flock of white birds who flew off the stage. Amazed, I partially removed my mask to follow the flight of the birds. I looked ahead, a big smile on my face.  
"I gotta learn that trick!"  
The performer bowed to the crowd. "Thank you! For my next trick I need a volunteer from the audience!"  
I immediately raised my hand and waved it about. "Oh! Oh! Me! Me!"  
Alana turned to me sharply. "What do you think you're doing?"  
"I want to get a closer look," I explained, practically jumping to get the guy's attention.  
Kole shook his head at me. "It's better that we don't attract any attention to ourselves."  
The performer suddenly pointed at Kole. "How about you, young man?"  
Kole backed away and shook his head. "Uh…"  
The performer laughed. "Awww, he's shy. Leeet's give him some encouragement, folks!  
Someone from the audience pushed Kole over to the edge of the stage where the performer grabbed him and hauled him up.  
I pouted in defeat. "Awww! That could'a been me."  
The performer, carried a chair and ushered Kole to the center of the stage. Once there he seated him on the chair.  
"This next trick is called 'Taming the Dragon.'" He spoke to Kole dramatically. "You will be my captured princess!"  
the crowd broke into snickers at this and Kole blushed to the roots of his hair.  
He tied him up with a maroon ribbon and began to firebend a huge fire comet from the fires at the top of each pillar. He lopped it close to Kole and back out. He seemed to control it by a flame rope that connected its head to the Performer's hand.  
"Don't worry, young maiden! I will tame this fiery beast!" he hollared out playfully. He played with the fire comet for a bit more, then continued, "It's too strong, I can't hold it!'  
I gasped, worried. "We gotta help him!"  
Alana held me back, her blue eyes boring into mine seriously. "No, we don't want to make a scene!"  
The performer gasped in horror. "The rope, it's breaking!"  
The rope broke and the comet charged right for Kole, who cringed and cried out.  
No!  
I airbent myself up onto the stage, both Alana and a strange masked man just failing to restrain me. I reached Kole who was still in the chair in a matter of seconds. I dropped in from the sky, turned and created a whirlwind that dissipated the comet in with a shower of confetti.  
The performer glared at me from the stage floor where he'd fallen. "Hey, you tryin' to upstage me, kid?"  
I watched the confetti rain down on me, not knowing what to do. I looked back at the crowd which started to 'boo' me. I tried to amuse them with a lame dance while Alana untied Kole behind me. Suddenly, someone spoke up.  
"Hey! That kid's the Avatar!" someone cried out and I froze, my blood going cold and a look of horror on my face. I looked down and saw that my mask had fallen and was now lying next to my feet. Three Fire Nation guards turned to face me at the mention of my name. They began muscling through the crowd to the stage.  
"I think it's time to go," Alana said as she and Kole ripped off their masks as well.  
"Follow me! I can git ya outta here!" suddenly, a man shrowuded in a dark tattered cloak appeared behind us.  
He was standing near a broken wall at the back of the stage. The masked man waved to us through it, prompting us to follow.  
A guard shouted, alerting others. "There they are!"  
We ran through the broken wall just as the guards burst onstage. The masked man threw a smoke bomb at the guards feet, obscuring us from their view. The masked man and our group ran through squares and alleys, moving our legs as fast as possible.  
"Over there!" a guard pointed at us as we passed.  
"I'm calling Emrys!" I said to the others. knowing we couldn't make it out in time.  
Groups of pursing guards linked up behind us as I produced my eagle whistle and blew.  
Alana eyed the whistle uncertainly. "I hope she can really hear that eagle whistle!"  
The masked man turned into an alley. "This way!" he cried before skidding to a halt.  
It was a dead end.  
"Okay! Not this way!" he corrected as  
We turned, but the exit was blocked by guards. The masked man threw another exploding smoke bomb and then ran past us into another alley. This one was a dead too. It ended in a high wall. On the other side was a huge supply dump of fireworks. I looked up and breathed in relief as I spotted a huge winged best soaring through the sky.  
Emrys had arrived just in time.  
"Emrys! Down here!" I yelled, waving her over.  
Emrys landed between us and the guards, facing them furiously. She flapped her massive wings and the gale that resulted blew the guards out of the alley to land in a confused heap some distance away. As the guards ran back into the alley, we were already airborne, soaring away into a starry sky.  
The masked man, now seated comfortable next to me, bit the top off a some kind of bomb like object - the fuse already lit. He threw it at the fireworks supply and it blew up in an awesome display of colors and sounds. Satisfied that we were now safe, the masked man removed his hood to reveal a wild tangle of brown hair and dark eyes. His face was scruffy and unshaven and he looked like a sort of bandit or something.  
"Nice touch setting off the fireworks," I complimented as we flew away.  
Alana studied him suspiciously. "You seem to really know your explosives."  
The man turned to us and smiled slightly. "I'm familiar."  
Alana gasped in surprise. "You're a Fire Nation soldier!"  
I had no idea how she came up with that but Emrysrently she wasn't wrong.  
The man nodded. "Was. My name's Chey."  
No one said anything else as we continued to fly through the sky. We landed somewhere deep in the forest, far away from the town a few hours later. We were sitting around a cozy camp fire while Emrys dozed behind me and Fang slept happily in my lap.  
"So. Chey, why did you save us?" Kole asked once every one was settled.  
"I serve a man. More than a man really, he's a myth, but he's real, a living legend, Aries the Deserter. He was a Fire Nation general, or wait, was he an admiral?" Chey paused, trying to gather his thoughts.  
Alana rolled her eyes. "He was very highly ranked, we get it."  
Chey nodded. "Yeh! Way up there! But he couldn't take the madness any more. He's the first person ever to leave the army - and live. I'm the second, but you don't get to be a legend for that. That's okay though. Aries's a firebending genius. Some say he's mad - but he's not! He's enlightened."  
I cocked my head to the side, curious. "You mean there's a firebender out here who's not with the Fire Lord?" I stood up, excited. "We've gotta go see him! He can train me!"  
Alana looked at me like I'd lost it. "We're not gonna go find some crazy firebender!"  
Chey stood, offended. "He's not crazy! He's a genius! And he's the perfect person to train the Avatar! That's why I followed you into the festival."  
Alana stood up as well, as hot headed as usual. "Look, thanks for the help, but we're leaving for the north pole in the morning."  
"Alana, this could be my only chance to meet a firebending master who would actually be willing to teach me," I said, hurt that she would just casually toss aside my only chance to train with fire.  
"It can't hurt just to talk to him," Kole said, standing and putting a hand on her  
She sighed. "That's what you said about going to the festival! Why doesn't anyone ever listen to me!?"  
As she turned to stalk away from the group, she almost ran right into a spear that appeared out of nowhere. In a flash, we were surrounded by men wearing straw hats and armor and wielding spears.  
"Don't move!" one growled.  
They shoved us all into a tight group and swiftly bean leading us through the forest.  
"Aries told you not to look for Avatar!" one of the men snapped quietly at Chey.  
Alana started and whipped on Chey. "Hold on, you know these guys!?"  
"Oh yeh! Lin Yi' an old buddy! Right Lin Yi?" he said, smiling.  
Lin Yi lowered his spear at Chey. "Shut up! Keep moving."  
We continued walking for a few more hours in total silence. Kole kept a firm arm wrapped around my waist and his other around Alana's shoulders. Around midnight, we reached a beautiful little village with random small, lean to cottages scattered about everywhere. There was little stone paths that led down the hill and to the houses. At the bottom was the biggest hut of all, resting right on the bank of a calm little river.  
Lin Yi shoved Chey forward and I frowned disapprovingly at him.  
He ignored my look and continued glaring at Chey darkly. "Go on. He sees you only."  
Chey looked nervous. "Oh that's okay, we can chat later."  
"Is that where Aries is? I need to talk to him right away," I said, marching forward excitedly. I only made it about three feet though because I was suddenly stopped by a spear shaft across my path.  
Lin Yi was the one who had stopped me.  
"No! You wait there." He turned slightly and pushed Chey forward roughly. "Go now!"  
Chey sighed and looked at me, noding encouragingly. "Don't worry! Everything'll be fine. He's a great man, great man!"  
Chey walked toward Aries's hut, and disappeared inside. With nothing better to do, Alana, Kole, and I all settled down to sleep, nestling into Emrys's warm body. He was gone for what I guess was a half an hour before he finally appeared again. When Chey exited Aries's hut, my eyes snapped open immediately and I sat up. As he approached, he didn't look at me and kept his head down, his eyes on the ground.  
"What happened? Can I see Aries now?" I asked, concerned.  
Chey sat down across from me glumly. "He won't see you. He's very angry that I brought you here. He wants you to leave immediately."  
"Finally! Let's hit the road," Alana said, Emrysrently awake as well and jumped to her feet. She stretched back out again like a cat.  
"Why won't he see me?" I asked, hurt and disappointed.  
"He says you're not ready. Says you haven't mastered waterbending and earthbending yet," Chey said.  
I frowned, confused. "Wait, how does he know that?"  
Chey shrugged. "He saw the way you walked into camp. He can tell."  
"I'm going in anyway!" I said determinedly.  
I walked over to the entrance to Aries's hut. I took a deep breath, knowing that it was now or never, and parted the curtain and walked into the darkness. Inside, a dark figure was seated cross legged amidst a semicircle of candles, his back to me.  
"Get out," a deep gravely voice growled.  
"Master, I need to learn fire bending," I pleaded.  
"Only a fool seeks his own destruction."  
I sat down, ready for anything he was going to throw at me. "I'm the Avatar. It's my destiny to…"  
"Destiny? What would a boy know of destiny? If a fish lives its whole life in this river, does he know the river's destiny? No! Only that it runs on and on out of his control! He may follow where it flows, but he cannot see the end. He cannot imagine the ocean," Aries growled.  
I was totally lost. Where had that come from? "Ookay, but it's the Avatar's duty to master all of the bending disciplines."  
"To master the bending disciplines, you must first master discipline itself. But you have no interest in this, so I have no interest in you! Now, get out," he snapped.  
I wasn't giving up that easily.  
"Please, I have to learn. This could be my only chance," I said fiercely.  
Aries turned around to face me in anger. I noticed that he had a strange thin scar that went from his forehead all the way over his eye and down his chin on the left side of his face. "Are you deaf! How can I teach you if you refuse to listen? Before learning firebending you must learn water and earth. Water is cool and soothing, earth is steady and stable, but fire, fire is alive! It breathes, it grows, without a bender, a rock will not throw itself! But fire will spread and destroy everything in its path if one does not have the will to control it! That is its destiny! You are not ready! You are too weak!"  
At this final pronouncement the candles flamed up around Aries to illuminate the entire tent. When the flames go out, the room was black.  
I was consumed by anger and pure power. Willingly, I let myself fall into the avatar state. I felt Avatar Koren surround me, fill me, become me. It was exactly the same thing that had happened to me back at the fire nation temple. Avatar Koren was speaking through me, using me as a link to the living world.  
Koren used his bending and lit one candle directly in front of Aries. The other candles had disappeared. Instead of the tent, a tree was behind the Deserter. In front of him, stood Avatar Koren, who had possessed my body entirely.  
"You think I am weak?" Koren growled furiously.  
"Avatar Koren! No! No!" Aries gasped, inclining his head in respect. "I did not mean that!"  
Koren did not listen. "I have mastered the elements a thousand times in a thousand lifetimes. Now, I must do it once again. You will teach the Avatar firebending."  
At this final statement, Koren raised his left hand and the tree behind Aries burst into flame.  
Aries and I both came out of our trances at the same time. I felt Koren leave my body and everything returned back to normal. I breathed a sigh of relief - every time he did that I felt like my mind was being smothered. "Yes, yes, I will teach you."  
"Really? That's great!" I cheered, thrilled that he finally caved.  
Aries looked at my enormous, cheesy smile before he dropped his head into his hand in defeat. "Ughhhhh."

The next morning my training began.  
As Aries and I stood outside his hut, Alana was sitting on a boulder by the river, fishing to pass time. Just up the river, a little ways away from Alana, Kole was practicing waterbending.  
I stood, bandy legged, on a flat stone in the river while Aries stood a foot or two away on the bank in front of his hut.  
Aries started at me critically.  
"Widen your stance." I complied. "Wider! Bend your knees. Now, concentrate."  
I took on an expression of concentration, trying as hard as I could to please him.  
"Good, good!" he said in his gravely voice, nodding slightly.  
"Wait! What do I do now?" I asked as Aries begins to walk away.  
Aries whipped around, startling me. "Silence! Talking is not concentrating! Look at your friend, is he talking?" He pointed to Alana next. "Even that oaf knows to concentrate on what she's doing!"  
"Hey!" Alana snapped from afar, offended.  
I sighed in frustration. "But what am I concentrating on?"  
"Feel the heat of the sun. It is the greatest source of fire. Yet, it is in complete balance with nature!" he said simply.  
I looked at the sun then turned back to Aries, a large smile on my face. "So when do I get to make some fire?"  
Aries glared. "Concentrate!"  
I breathed deeply, and then flushed in embarrassment as I heard my friends laughing at me from behind. I turned to glare at them, but they stopped instantly, trying in vain to look innocent.  
This was going to suck.

A few days later, my training had not improved much. At the moment, my master and I were busy climbing the slope of a mountain, with me wondering what the point of all this was the entire way. As we walked up the path to the mountain's summit, I started pestering him with more of my questions.  
"Are we coming up here so I don't burn anything with my fire blasts?" I asked.  
Aries shook his head. "No fire yet."  
Disappointed and impatient, I voiced my annoyance. "What?"  
By this point we were both standing atop the mountain, the surrounding countryside beautiful in the sun's morning glow.  
"Power in firebending comes from the breath. That is why you must master proper breath control," Aries said calmly.  
I quirked an eyebrow. "You brought me up here to breathe?"  
"Assume your stance," he said, ignoring my comment. He turned away from me to look at the scenery as I complied.  
"Wider," he suddenly said.  
I spluttered at him. "You're not even look…"  
"Wider! Now, inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth - without talking."  
Odette obeyed completely irritated with him.  
"Good. Keep going."  
The firebending master walked down the path and out of view as I continued to practice, a look of fierce concentration on my face.  
Hours later, Aries still had not returned for me. Irritated and bored out of my mind, I got tired of practicing "breathing" and decided to head back down. Old man had probably forgotten I was up here.  
Once back at the village, I marched right past Alana and Kole and went straight for Aries hut. Hesitating momentarily, I parted the curtain into Aries's candle lit hut and entered.  
Aries turned his head sharply to glar at me. "What are you doing here!? I did not tell you to stop!"  
I gulped. His narrowed eyes pinned me to the wall and I felt my stomach drop to the bottom of my shoes.  
"I've been breathing for hours," I said lamely.  
"You want to stop breathing?"  
I angrily threw my hands wide in a gesture of frustration. "I want you to stop wasting my time! I already know how to squat and breathe and feel the sun." As I ranted this, I made semi-disrespectful gestures, mimicking each of the activities that Aries had insisted I practiced. "I want to know how to shoot fire out of my fingertips!"  
Aries lowered his head. "Ughhhh. I had a pupil once who had no interest in learning discipline. He was only concerned with the power of fire - how he could use it to destroy his opponents and wipe out the obstacles in his path., but fire is a horrible burden to bear. Its nature is to consume and without control it destroys everything around it."  
I sighed in defeat as Aries poured himself some tea. "Learn restraint, or risk destroying yourself and everything you love."  
Without another word, I exited the tent, knowing he was completely right.

Kole:

About three days after we had been at the village, I woke up one morning to find Odette sitting by herself on a stone near the riverbank in front of Aries hut. She had her head down and looked depressed.  
Concerned, I started over to her but just then, Aries exited his hut to stand in front of Odette. The wind blew slightly and leaves fell around them.  
"I thought about what you said. I promise I'll be more patient," Odette said quietly.  
Aries just stared at her for a moment and I prayed that he would forgive her for whatever she had done wrong.  
"We're going to work with fire now."  
"Oh yeh!" Odette immediately exploded in excitement and I chuckled, amused. She airbent herself in a few quick loops in the air, then froze, remembering her promise. She landed back on the stone, put her hands behind her back and assumed a serious expression.  
"I mean, let us begin," she said, and her tone only made me laugh more.  
I decided to stick around fro the lesson today and took a seat on the soft grass. I watched as Aries caught one of the falling leaves in his left hand. He held it between his thumb and forefinger and began to burn a tiny hole in it at the point of contact.  
He handed Odette the leaf as he spoke. "Concentrate on the fire. I want you to keep this flame from reaching the edges of the leaf for as long as you can."  
The hole was spreading with the flame even as Odette assumed her stance and began to concentrate. Suddenly, a rebel guard approached the pair, panting and out of breath.  
'Master! There is trouble," he gasped.  
Odette's concentration broke in a heartbeat. "What's going on?"  
"Concentrate on your leaf," Aries snapped as he left with the guard.  
I sighed and got to my feet. If all Odette was going to be doing was playing with a leaf, I might as well get some waterbending practice in. I walked over to the river bank a ways away from her. She noticed me and her light grey eyes darkened.  
"This is the worst firebending instruction ever. All he does is leave me alone for hours to concentrate or breathe," She growled petulantly.  
I shook my head. That would drive me crazy too but I was not about to fuel her annoyance. "I'm sure there's a good reason."  
She sighed and looked up at the sky dramatically. "But I'm ready to do so much more."  
Suddenly, Odette's face lit up with an idea.  
Not good.  
She widened her stance and began to breathe slow and deep. She still held the leaf, which began to smoke. Suddenly, the leaf burst into flame and disintegrated. Odette was now holding a fireball in her hand.  
"I did it! I made fire!" she gasped, amazed with herself.  
I came closer, worried. "Odette, that's great, but you should take it slow."  
Her expression got annoyed at this comment, and the flame instantly got bigger. We were both surprised.  
"Careful!" I warned, uncertain if she was really ready for this.  
She retained control and reduced the flame to its former size, but not before almost falling into the river.  
She looked up and smiled at me excitedly. "Now that's firebending!"  
She then shot out a whip of flame and then began to juggle her ball of flame happily.  
"Odette, you'll hurt yourself!" I said, coming closer again.  
Please don't let anything happen to her. Please!  
Odette continued to play. "Wonder how that juggler did it?"  
She looped the ball around her and it began a complete circle around her and she pushed it outward. The shockwave of flame engulfed me and seared my hands which I had raised to protect my face. I cried out in pain as intense heat engulfed my hands and burned my bare flesh. I crumpled to my knees, hands wrapped around me as I tried to push past the pain. It was the worst pain I had ever felt in my life, and it wouldn't stop. It just kept getting hotter, the pain getting more intense…  
"Kole!" she gasped in horror. She hopped over to me as I groaned pitifully. "I'm so sorry!"  
I knew it wasn't her fault - it had been an accident - but I was in too much pain to comfort her at the moment.  
Alana suddenly came rushing in out of nowhere.  
Great.  
"Kole, what's wrong!?" she gasped as she came over. She spun on Odette angrily. "What did you do?"  
Odette was staring at me in shock, tears pooling in her eyes and making me feel horrible. I shouldn't have been standing so close to her. It was partially her fault, but I knew how inexperience she was. It had been foolish of me. She should not blame herself for my mistake…  
"Iiiit was an accident! I was...Kole, I'm so -" she started.  
Alana cut her off as she grabbed Odette and tackled her to the ground just as she tried to put a hand on my shoulder. I wanted to yell at my sister for doing that, but I knew Alana would just turn on me. She needed to blow off some steam before she became anywhere near reasonable.  
Alana shoved her face into Odette's but Odette was only focused on me, the tears streaming freely down her face now. "I told you we shouldn't mess around with this! Look what you did! You burned my brother!"  
Unable to bear another second of the pain I was causing her I got up and started to run away. Odette looked on, stunned, as I fled. She looked so scared and lost and I felt my hear clench. Alana now stood over her, still very angry.  
"You burned my brother! This is all your fault!" she screeched, turning on Aries who had now returned.  
The disappeared from my sight as I reached the forest. I ran for a for a few more minutes, trying to get as far away as possible so I could get a hold of myself. I ended up near a river bank and I knelt down, taking slow deep breaths as the pain throbbed throughout my arms and hands.  
After a minute or so of trying to get my breathing back to normal, I looked at my hands to see that they were burned, red and angry as ever.  
I put them in the water, hoping it would help ease the pain. It didn't. The pain only intensified, then gradually, I felt some relief.  
My eyes opened in surprise as I looked down. My hands glowed white underneath the water. Thrilled and terrified at the same time, I raised them out and they stopped glowing. The pain, as well as the burns were gone. I looked at my hands in amazement.  
"You have healing abilities," Aries's voice suddenly spoke from behind me. I turned to see Aries approaching from behind. "The great benders of the water tribe sometimes have this ability."  
He sat next to me, his old face saddened. "I've always wished I were blessed like you - free from this burning curse."  
I balked. "But you're a great master. You have powers I'll never know."  
"Water brings healing and life. But fire brings only destruction and pain. It forces those of us burdened with its care to walk a razor's edge between humanity and savagery. Eventually, we are torn apart," Aries said solemnly.  
Just when I was about to respond, the water in front of us was suddenly blasted with gouts of flame. Aries rose quickly to a defensive bending stance and broke the flames that washed over us. I jumped to me feet when I recognized Drake's riverboats bearing down on us.  
"Go get your friends and flee!" Aries yelled at me. "Do not come back here or you will all be destroyed. Hurry!"  
I did as he asked, my heart pounding in fright as Aries turned back to face the boats which were shooting fireballs at him. They landed harmlessly all around him. With a few powerful motions, he produced an awesome wall of fire perhaps a hundred feet across the entire river in front of the ships.  
But I didn't stop to oggle at it. My focus was entirely on my sister and Odette, and destroying anyone who came within a one mile radius of hurting them.

Odette:

As soon as Kole disappeared from my sight, I made straight for Aries hut like the coward I was so I could be alone and kick myself.  
I couldn't believe what I had done. He must hate me…I sure hated me. I wish it had been me who'd been burned. Frankly, I hoped he was mad at me, I hoped he would come here and tell me he and his sister were leaving and they never wanted to see me again. It was what I deserved.  
"Kole! Are you all right?" I heard Alana ask.  
Kole was hugging, he'd obviously been running. "I'm fine, we've got to get out of here. Where's Odette?"  
I winced. Here we go.  
I heard him running down the hill path to Aries's hut. Kole entered the hut through the curtain. Inside, I was sitting amidst the candles, my back to the entrance.  
"Aries tried to tell me that I wasn't ready. I wouldn't listen. I'm never going to firebend again," I told him, my voice breaking with guilt and pain, pain because I had caused him pain.  
"You'll have to eventually," he said, his voice as gentle and warm as ever.  
I shook my head. "No, never again."  
I will never hurt you again…  
"It's okay, Odette. I'm healed," he said, and I heard the smile in his voice.  
I started in shock. "What? How?"  
Kole shook his head at me when I turned to face him. "I'll explain later. But right now, we have to get out here. Drake and his soldiers are attacking!"  
I airbent myself to my feet. "Where?"  
Kole looked at me sternly; he obviously knew where my thoughts were going. "By the river. They captured Aries."  
I started to run out of the hut but he caught me around the waist before I made it to the door.  
"No! Don't be stupid, let's just get Alana and go," he said, tugging me back.  
I tried to shove him away, fighting against him. "Let me go Kole."  
"Odette…"  
"I have to help him! Don't you get it? I'm not going to let anyone else get hurt because of my stupidity," I spat, desperate to reach Aries before Drake could do something to him.  
He let me go, looking like he was going to lose it any moment. But he let me go, and that was all that mattered right now. I nodded to him in assurance and ran out of the hut before taking off into the air.  
I reached the river bank in no time at all and spotted the men from the air. I was close enough that I could hear what they were shouting to each other.  
Drake and his men stood against my lone Master.  
"Look at you. You were once so great. I can't believe my former master has become nothing more than a simple savage," Drake sneered ad I felt my anger flare.  
Aries glowered at him. "It is you who have embraced savagery, Drake."  
Drake sniffed hotly. "It's Admiral Drake, now."  
"That title will not help you against the Avatar. Do not try to fight her! You are no match!" Aries replied, smugness in his voice.  
Drake laughed. "I think I can handle a silly little girl."  
"I have never seen such raw power."  
I felt my heart warm at this. I'd thought he'd hated me.  
"Aries!" I cried out as I landed, running over to them.  
Drake eyed me hungrily before turning back to Aries. "We'll see. Men! Take the deserter!"  
Aries was suddenly surrounded by five of Drake's men. I stopped short in horror though as they closed in. Aries caught my wide eyed look, winked, smiled, and wrapped himself in a massive ball of flame. When it dissipated, he was gone.  
Oh I am so learning that one!  
"It's a trick! He's run off into the woods. Find him!" Drake yelled angrily and then he turned to me. "Let's find out what my old master has taught you."  
I balked, my grey eyes wide. My hair was blowing around my face slightly and I brushed it out of the way irritably. "YOU were Aries's student?"  
Drake snorted. "Until I got bored."  
He launched a fireball at me and I dodged that one and another.  
"I see he taught you how to duck and run like a coward. But I doubt he showed you what a firebender is truly capable of!" he snarled.  
He launched another fireball at me and it flew over my head as I produced a flat, spinning whirlwind of air underneath me and balanced myself on top of it with one finger.  
"Whoa! Wild shot!" I smirked. Why not have some fun with this?  
"I'll show you wild!"  
He fired several more volleys which I either dodged or broke with airbending. Drake's blasts had torched much of the surrounding forest and the sky filled with smoke.  
"No self control…" I murmured to myself. I looked over at the boats then back at Drake, getting an idea.  
"Stand and fight, Avatar!" he snapped at me.  
"Oh, were we fighting? I thought you were just getting warmed up," I said innocently.  
"I was!" He fired many more volleys, all of which missed.  
"Is that all you got? Man, they'll make anyone an admiral these days!" I leered in disbelief.  
Drake launched another errant fire blast with a dreadful noise of frustration. I airbent myself up onto one of the ships.  
"Ahoy!" I called, trying not to laugh as I stuck my butt out at the admiral and wiggled it suggestively. "I'm Admiral Drake!"  
Drake looked angry and then made another noise of frustration. He jumped up onto the main deck and launched a blast of fire. It set the bridge on fire, but I jumped off unharmed to the aft section. I then jumped to the aft section of the next ship.  
"I don't know why, but I thought you'd be better than Ren," I smirked nonchalantly.  
I looked at him with disappointment when I said this and hung my arms by my sides, letting them dangle. My eyes went wide and I fell flat on the deck fast, though, as a sudden wall of fire passed over me. I peered through the second ship guard railing, Drake visible through it on the deck of the first ship. He had just blasted a hole through the guard rail of both ships with the wall of fire I'd just avoided.  
"Sloppy. Very sloppy." I shook my head in disappointment.  
Crying in frustration, Drake followed me around the boats, spreading fire to each of them in his vain effort to get me. Momentarily out of Drake's sights, I hid behind one of the deck cabins. Drake landed behind me, however, having jumped down from the top of the deck cabin. I turned to face him.  
"No where to run now, you little smart mouth!"  
He launched a fire bolt, which I dodged by flipping over Drake's head to land behind him. The bridge of the third and last ship was now on fire.  
"You've lost this battle," I said smugly, dropping my teasing tone.  
I airbent myself into the air as Drake set fire to the third ship's prow.  
Drake looked at me like I was insane. "Are you crazy? You haven't thrown a single blow!"  
I motioned to my left. "No, but you have."  
Drake looked to his left and grimaced. The first ship was now sinking fast into the river.  
"Aries said you had no restraint," I said with a shrug.  
I hopped off the prow of the third ship and dove into the water. Drake screamed in frustration as the two remaining ships continued to burn. I broke the surface of the water and, cupping my hand to my mouth, shouted, "Have a nice walk home!"  
"Odette, come on!" I heard Alana's voice yelling at me.  
I turned and looked at the river bank beach. Emrys was there with the others on her back. I ran over, hopped on Emrys and we took off.  
As we flew away I suddenly remembered someone. "Wait! Where's Aries?"  
"He disappeared. They all did," Alana said.  
I looked down sadly at Aries's now empty compound before it disappeared from sight.  
"Goodbye," I murmured softly wishing I'd had more time with Aries.

Kole:

Emrys flew steadily through the clouds around sunset. I was watching Odette closely, wondering if she was okay or not. She wouldn't look at me so obviously she was still upset.  
she stretched out suddenly and I caught a flash of a torn sleeve, red angry skin. She'd been hurt, I was filled with such a sudden intense anger and I took me by surprise. I shook it off, knowing that if she saw my face it would freak her out.  
Forcing my voice to be calm, I leaned forward and pulled her to me. "Odette, you're burned."  
She looked down in wonder to see that I was right. Her sleeves were torn open and there were burn marks on her smooth skin.  
"Let me help you," I said.  
I opened my water bottle and wrapped some water around my hand. It glowed white again. I placed it over the burned area , breathed and concentrated. When I let go the wound was healed.  
"Wow! That's good water," she gasped, amazed.  
"When did you learn how to do that?" Alana asked, her eyebrow quirked.  
I shrugged. "I guess I always knew."  
"Oh...well then thanks for all the first aid over the years. Like when I fell into the grease briar bramble and that time I had two fish hooks in my thumb!" Alana said, annoyed.  
Odette frowned. "Two?"  
I laughed. "She tried to get the first fish hook out with another fish hook."  
Alana continued without a pause. "Oh, and the time that big snake bit me! Thanks for healing that up. That was great. Really helpful."


	18. Chapter 17: The Northern Air Temple

Kole:

I stared around at the small group of people who surrounded us. Everyone was seated on wooden benches, with Alana and Odette between me. It was night, and we were listening to a bunch of boring airbender stories because we'd been dragged here by none other than the airbender herself. Some children kneeled on the ground in front of the benches. They were all listening to a man sitting in front of the fire that burned in the center of the gathering. I'd tuned him out for most of the story but it sounded like he was wrapping things up and I breathes a small sigh of relief.  
"So travelers, the next time you think you hear a strange large dragon talking, take a closer look, it might not be a giant parrot, but a flying man! A member of a secret group of air walkers who laugh at gravity and laugh at those bound to the earth by it!" he said grandly.  
I looked down at Odette, who was smiling the biggest smile I had ever seen.  
"Aren't airbender stories the best?" she said, looking up at me hopefully.  
Actually I found them to be rather boring, but I didn't want to disappoint her so I just pretended to be interested.  
"Was it realistic? Was that how it was back then?" I asked.  
Odette nodded. "I laugh at gravity all the time. Haha! Gravity."  
Suddenly, a pair of hands holding an open hat appeared in front of Alana. The hands shook the hat and the jingle of coins could be heard.  
"Jingle, jingle!" the storyteller said brightly.  
Alana searched her coat, but when she opened her hands there was only some lint and a bug. The bug's legs wiggled a few times.  
Alana winced. "Sorry!"  
The Storyteller glared as he walked away. "Aww. Cheapskates!"  
Odette laughed and then ran over to the storyteller who was now facing another audience member as he sought more donations.  
"Hey thanks for the story!" she said.  
The Storyteller thrust his hat at Odette without even looking at her. "Tell it to the cap, girl!"  
I frowned unhappily at him.  
Suddenly, a copper piece fell on the ground, which Fang picked up in his mouth and deposited in the cap. The storyteller patted Fang and the little wolf barked happily.  
"Aw, much obliged little…dog…thing!" the Storyteller said.  
Fang trotted over to Odette and sat down at her feet, leaning on her leg. "It means a lot to hear airbender stories. It must have been hundred years ago your great grandpa met them."  
Storyteller looked at her, annoyed. "What are you prattling about child? Great grand-pappy saw the air walkers last week!"  
She started in shock as she looked over at a very old man who waved at Odette.  
"Heya!" the old man said.

Odette:

I was so excited I could barely contain myself as Emrys flew just above puffy white clouds, snow capped mountains in the distance.  
"Hey, we're almost at the Northern Air Temple! This is where they had the championships for dragon polo.  
Kole was sitting down next to Alana. "Do you think we'll really find airbenders?"  
"You want me to be like you, or totally honest?" Alana replied as she whittled something.  
Kole folded his arms. "Are you saying I'm a liar?"  
"I'm saying you're an optimist. Same thing basically."  
I ignored their bickering, looking ahead and smiling.  
"Hey guys, look at this!" I said, hopefully distracting them.  
I pointed ahead as the Northern Air Temple came into view. It sat atop a sheer peak similar to its sister temple down south. Unlike that temple, however, there were people or things flying around this one. Smoke rose in lazy pillars from a couple places among the spires. Around the temple flew many gliders.  
After just one look at them my smile immediately turned to a frown.  
Kole was amazed on the other hand. "Huh! They really are airbenders!"  
I leaned back and folded my arms unhappily. "No, they're not."  
Alana appeared beside me. "What do you mean they're not? Those guys are flying!"  
I scanned the temple and its gliders. "Gliding maybe, but not flying. You can tell by the way they move. They're not airbending. Those people have no spirit."  
As I finished, Kole and Alana almost got their heads taken off by a glider as it passed over their heads. The glider pilot laughed. He was a teenage boy wearing amber goggles and seated in a glider built out of a wheelchair laughed and wheeled his craft around for another pass at Emrys.  
Kole pointed to the glider. "I don't know, Odette. That kid seems pretty spirited!"  
The wheelchair glider made another pass. I looked at him and got a competitive look on my face.  
Let's see what this kid's got.  
I jumped into the air, unfolded my glider and took off. The other gliders now flew in formation around Emrys. Kole fell backward, crashing into Alana.  
"We better find some solid ground before it finds us!" I heard Alana say.  
I looked down to see Emrys landing gracefully on one of the temple's outer terraces. Then I looked back to the boy glider, still laughing. He soared upward and I came up beneath him, an unhappy expression on my face. I flew upward as well and came up just behind my target. Below, Air Temple residents were watching our game of "tag" going on in the sky from the terrace where Emrys landed.  
An audience member cheered his friend on. "Go Cash! Show that skinny girl how it's done!"  
Back in the sky, I continued the pursuit. Cash hit his brakes, looped backwards and ended up behind me. We twirled around each other in a controlled dive, neck and neck with each other.  
"Hey there! You're pretty good," he called out to me, impressed.  
"Yeh, I know. But I can do more than fancy gliding!" I sneered.  
I broke my descent, turned and shot straight upward. I came back to the one of temple's towers, let go of my glider, and started running along the side of the tower. Then I produced an air scooter, jumped on it and rode it along the outside wall of the tower, my glider still running along side of me. I let the air scooter die and then jumped back on my glider and soared back into the sky. I looked back at Cash, who was impressed.  
"Wow! I don't think I can do that! But here's a good one…" he said.  
He released a cord on his glider and a cylinder on the back of his glider began to leave a trail of thick grey smoke. Cash manipulated his glider through loops and arcs, leaving the grey trail behind him. When he was done, I realized that Cash had made a picture of my face, arrow and all, with a sour expression. The crowd laughed from below.  
"What do you think?" Cash asked as he came up beside me.  
"It's great," I muttered, not enthused at all.  
I landed next to Kole and Alana, folding my glider. Cash landed his glider right behind, skidding only a bit before he applied his hand break and came to a stop. A bunch of kids came up and detached the glider from his wheelchair. He then wheeled over to me and my friends.  
"Hey! You're a REAL airbender! You must be the Avatar! That's amazing! I, I, I've heard stories about you," he said, his brown eyes wide in amazement.  
Hmm…well I suppose he does know a bit about airbenders…  
"Thanks," I said, embarrassed but happy at his pronouncement.  
"Wow! This glider chair is incredible!" Alana said.  
Two girls brought the glider setup back for Alana to inspect.  
Cash nodded. "If you think this is good, wait until you see the other stuff my Dad designed."  
He began to wheel away, Alana and us following.

Kole:

We moved with our new friend through the huge main gate of the temple. When we reached the main chamber, it was quite unlike the one in the Southern Air Temple. This room was dominated by a jumble of steam-powered machinery with many wheels, gears and pipes. It was not pretty. A beautiful statue of an airbender monk - who looked somewhat like Athos - was seen in a recessed portico in the wall, but it too seemed dirty and befouled as did the rest of the room. Shafts of sunlight did filter in, but the steam and dust made it look shadowy.  
Alana ran forward. "Wow!"  
Cash was proud. "Yeh, my Dad is the mastermind behind this whole place! Everything's powered by hot air. It even pumps hot air currents outside to give us a lift when we're gliding."  
As he spoke a woman walked over to cage which she got into. She pulled a rope and steam power lifted the cage up to a higher level where she exited.  
Odette was furious. "This place is unbelievable."  
Cash Emrysrently didn't hear her dark tone like I did. "Yeh, it's great isn't it?"  
"No, just unbelievable," she growled.  
She walked out of the frame, clearly saddened by what she had seen.  
I turned to Cash to explain. "Odette used to come here a long time ago. I think she's a little shocked it's so...Different."  
"So better!" Alana snorted, still awed. Still clueless.  
I shook my head and walked over to Odette in another part of the room. She was looking at a mural. It was surely once breathtakingly beautiful. Now, it was gritty and dirty. Worse, many of the figures and shapes in the mural had been destroyed since many pipes now and entered and exited the wall here.  
"This is supposed to be the history of my people," she said sadly, her long dark brown hair hiding her face from me.  
I walked over and put a hand on her shoulder, but she walked away over to a huge statue that once had a fountain attached to it. Now the fountain basin was full of green industrial looking effluence that bubbled and spirited. The statue then emitted a cloud of black smoke from its mouth, scaring Odette. I came up behind her and pulled her to me, wrapping my arms around her tightly.  
"Ugh!" She banged her head against my chest lightly as the smoke erupted from the statue.  
"I'm sure some parts of the temple are still the same," I whispered to her, hugging her tightly for a moment more before I let her go and we continued to move through the temple.  
Some time later, we were all walking across a narrow, suspended pathway from the main temple to a satellite temple building, Cash in the lead. We were now inside the satellite building. We were in the main courtyard, which looked untouched. Airbender statues still resided here.  
Odette smiled as she looked around. "It's nice to see even one part of the temple that isn't ruined."  
We were staring up at a huge recessed statue of an airbender monk.  
"Look out!" a voice suddenly shouted.  
The statue suddenly disintegrated as a wrecking ball smashed through it. I grabbed Odette and we fell backward with flying debris and dust. Everyone coughed. As the dust settled, I stared up in shock and saw many figures through the hole the wrecking ball just created. One of them walked forward, a middle aged man with a bald head and weird, patches of pointy hair on either side of his head. His right eye had a red monocle. He wore a green tunic mostly covered by the white smock or apron of an artisan.  
"What the doodle! Don't you know enough to stay away from construction sites? We have to make room for the bathhouse!" he cried.  
Uh oh.  
Odette assumed an airbending stance. "Do you know what you did? You just destroyed something sacred! For a stupid bathhouse!"  
The man waved a hand in front of his nose suggestively. "Well, people around here are starting to stink."  
Odette pointed at the man. "This whole place stinks!"  
She struck the ground with her staff, sending a gale back through the hole in the wall. The wrecking ball and its entire rig were blown off the building's rock foundation and fell into the crevices below.  
I balked at her. I'd never seen her so enraged before. I needed to calm her down quick, before she caused anymore damage - to herself or the temple.  
I walked forward and put a hand on her shoulder but she ignored me and shoved me away.  
"This is a sacred temple! You can't treat it this way. I've seen it when the monks were here. I know what it's supposed to be like," she snarled.  
The man started. "The monks? But you're seventeen!"  
Cash sighed. "Dad, she's the Avatar. She used to come here a hundred years ago."  
Odette advanced on the mechanist with each question. "What are you doing? Who said you could be here?"  
The mechanist turned away. "Hmmm...doing here...A long time ago, but not a hundred years, my people became refugees after a terrible flood." He gestured for effect to show the size of the flood, then stood behind his son's wheelchair. As he spoke, he began sniffling to hold back tears and I felt my heart clench. "My infant son, Cash, was badly hurt and lost his mother. I needed somewhere to rebuild and I stumbled across this place. Couldn't believe it! Everywhere pictures of flying people. But empty! Nobody home! Then I came across these fan like contraptions!"  
He put his hands out and extended his arms as if they were wings and made flying motions across the courtyard for emphasis. He stopped in front of Odette, who still looked angry.  
Odette looked at him with expressionless eyes. "Our gliders."  
The mechanist nodded. "Yes, little light flying machines. They gave me an idea. Build a new life for my son, in the air! Then everyone would be on equal ground, so to speak! We're just in the process of improving upon what's already here and after all, isn't that what nature does?"  
Odette, still looked unhappy. We were teary eyed behind her at the mechanist's story.  
"Nature knows where to stop," she said darkly.  
The mechanist looked through the hole in the wall he just created. "I suppose that's true. Unfortunately, progress has a way of getting away from us." He looked down in some sadness, then lifted his head back up to look at something. "Look at the time!"  
We turned to see three candles burning brightly on a stone pedestal. Each of the three candles was separated neatly into different sections. Next to the pedestal a large mallet rested, head down. The mechanist turned to speak to a scribe behind him.  
"Come the pulley system must be oiled before dark."  
Alana approached the candles. "Wait, how can you tell the time from that thing? The notches all look the same."  
"The candle will tell us. Watch."  
The candle flame snapped four times in a row.  
Alana's eyes widened. "You put spark powder in the candle!"  
"Four flashes, so it's exactly four hours past midday, or, as I call it, four o'candle!" the mechanist said, smiling.  
Alana laughed and the mechanist seemed to be pleased that Alana was interested in his work.  
"If you like that, wait till you see my finger safe knife sharpener!" He held up his left hand. Three of the fingers were made of wood. He detached them and tossed them to Alana. "Only took me three tries to get it right!"  
After catching the fingers, Alana screamed in horror. "Aaahhh!"  
"Follow me!" he said excitedly.  
Alana and the others ran after the mechanist, leaving Odette, Cash, and I alone.  
Cash turned to her, uncomfortable. "Hey Odette, I want to show you something."  
I wasn't sure if I was too happy about that or not…

Odette:

The three of us walked deep into the bowels of the Air Temple.  
I shook my head in disgust as I looked around. "I just can't get over it. There's not a single thing that's the same."  
Cash stopped and scooped up a little black and white striped hermit crab. "I don't know about that. The Temple might be different, but the creatures that live here are probably direct descendents of the ones that lived here a long time ago."  
Kole smiled, mostly at me. "You're right. They're kind of keepers of the temples origins."  
Cash gave the crab to Kole, who passed it to me. I smiled, feeling a connection with the tiny being.  
We're the last of our kind my friend, I thought. We are the last of our history…  
"Besides, there's one part of the temple that hasn't changed at all," Cash said.  
We started walking down a long corridor of the temple. Huge Air Nomad swirls were built into mosaics in the floor. Soon enough, we all stand in front of a door. It was huge, made of wood, and it was dominated in the center by a woodcut comprised of three wooden air symbols protruding from its surface and which were arranged in a triangular pattern. The symbols were attached to tubes that ended in two horns near the bottom of the woodcut.  
A sanctuary.  
"Hey! It's just like the one in the other Air Temple," Kole said.  
"Only an airbender can open it – so inside it's completely untouched, just the way the monks left it. I've always wondered what it was like in there," Cash said, watching me carefully.  
Kole turned to me expectantly. "Odette?"  
I wanted too…just to see what was inside…but…  
I lowered my head. "I'm sorry, this is the last part of temple that the same as it was. I want it to stay that way."  
Cash nodded in disappointment. "I completely understand. I just wanted you to know it was here."  
I smiled slightly. "Thanks."  
Maybe this place wasn't so bad after all.  
I turned and started walking back down the hall the way we had come.

Alana:

The mechanist and I were walking down a dark, narrow stone staircase. I was having such a great time with this man, he was very interesting and his ideas were completely genius. I'd already come up with about ten different ideas to use in our fight against the Fire Nation. I was desperate to learn more.  
We held lanterns that glowed light blue, but didn't put out much light.  
"These lanterns are terrible! I can't see," I complained, tripping.  
I stopped and opened one. Inside, the jar was packed full with fireflies. One escaped.  
"Why would you want to use fireflies for light?" I asked.  
"Hey! Close that up! They'll get loose. Fireflies are a non-flammable light source," he said.  
We continued, coming to a door whose edges were blocked with some kind of caulk. The mechanist felt around the caulk-like insulation, looking for leaks. He turned to me.  
"Cover your nose and hold your breath," he said.  
I did as he asked and he slid a small panel open and we peered into it. I saw nothing but dim walls.  
"Okay, so you brought me all the way down here to see an empty room," I asked.  
The mechanist shook his head. "Wrong."  
He closed the panel and we pulled away, uncovering out faces.  
"It's filled to the brim with natural gas. Came across it my first time here. Unfortunately, I was carrying a torch at the time. Nearly blew myself and the whole place even more sky high," he said, pointing to his scraggly eyebrows. "Thought my eyebrows would never grow back! Anyway, there's a vital problem that needs solving. From time to time we have gas leaks and they're nearly impossible to find."  
I checked my part of the door for leaks. "So this place is an explosion waiting to happen?"  
Lovely.  
He nodded. "Yes, until I figure out how to locate something I can't see, hear, smell or touch."  
Hmm…

Odette:

I watched as the gliders flew through the sky, wondering if this was a good idea or not.  
Cash came up beside Kole and patted him on the back. "The wind will carry you. It supports something inside you – something even lighter than air, and that something takes over when you fly."  
I turned to see Kole standing at the edge of the terrace, holding a glider with both hands. Cash was to his left. I moved behind him and to the right with Fang following at my feet.  
He suddenly stopped what he was doing and leaned the glider on its side.  
Kole looked over the side of the terrace in fear. "I've changed my mind. I think I was born without that something."  
Cash laughed. "Impossible! Everybody has it."  
I smiled at him, amused. "Spirit."  
They both turned to me, curiously. Well, Kole was curious…Cash was looking at me like I was a god or something. I really wished he would stopped doing that.  
"What?" he asked.  
I stepped forward slightly, closing my eyes and breathing in deeply, feeling the wind wrap around me and blow my hair lightly around my face…feeling apart of it. "That's the something you're talking about."  
"Yeh, I suppose it is," Cash said after a moment of consideration.  
Kole sighed and walked back over to the edge of the terrace. I knew it must have been terrifying for him. The terrace rested on a spot maybe a hundred feet up off the ground. What ever his doubts were, Kole was now ready for takeoff, Cash ready behind him.  
"Are you ready?" he asked.  
Kole shook his head. "No!"  
He jumped off anyway and screamed on his way down, Cash behind him. His screams turned to delight, however and he gained control of the craft and began to fly, Cash right with him. I watched Kole gliding, laughing like a fool. I laughed with him and jumped into the air, gliding over.  
Kole's face was bright with excitement. "I can't believe I'm flying!"  
"Just make sure to keep your mouth closed so you don't swallow a bug!" I laughed.  
"Cash was right about the air! All I had to do was trust it. Let it carry me," he said, amazed by this.  
I nodded in agreement. "Even though Cash's not an airbender, he really does have the spirit of one."  
And actually…I think I needed to repay him for that. Cash was back on the terrace, his glider detached and off to the slide. I glided in and folded up my glider.  
I sighed. "I've been thinking. If you wanna see what's in that room, I'd be happy to open the door for you."  
Cash looked like I'd just given him the greatest gift in the world. "Great!"  
"Wait! How do I land this thing?" Kole yelled, his voice echoing. "What if I land– eh! Blech! Yech! Bug! Bug! That was a bug!"

Alana:

As the mechanist bent over some plans on his desk, I decided to explore around his office. I spotted a strange shaped balloon thing and touched it's tip curiously, wincing as I knocked it over.  
The mechanist's head snapped toward me. "I said don't touch anything!"  
Ashamed, I lost control of the stuff I was trying to stop from hitting the ground and the junk fell all over the floor.  
"Oh, don't worry, that experiments old and that egg was just part of last week's lunch," he said, coming over to me.  
I sniffed the air and almost lost my lunch. "Ugh! Week old egg smell!"  
The mechanist laughed, grimacing as the foul odor spread. "Quick! Find that egg!"  
Both of us began crawling on our hands and knees to find the egg.  
"How could something that's so small you can't even see it make such a big stink!" I groaned as I peered into crevices.  
The mechanist's face suddenly lit up, getting an idea. "That's the solution to our problem!"  
It took me a moment but I caught onto what he was saying quickly. "Yeh!"  
We both crawled around to face each other, forgetting to stand up in our excitement.  
"If we put a whole mess of rotten eggs in the cellar where the gas seeps up…" I started, my mind racing a mile a minute.  
The mechanist nodded enthusiastically. "The gas will mix with the smell of rotten eggs…"  
"Then, if there's a leak…"  
"You smell rotten eggs! Then you just follow your nose to the place where the smell is coming from…"  
"And plug up the hole where the gas is escaping!" I exclaimed, grinning widely.  
"You're a genius!" we both said at the same time.  
Suddenly, a bell on the far wall started ringing and the mechanist jumped to his feet.  
"Something's wrong," he said worriedly, darting to the door. "I've got to go!"

Odette:

Kole, Cash, and I stood at the Temple door once again.  
Cash was giddy with excitement. "I can't believe I'm finally going to see what's inside."  
I smiled at him before stepping forward, taking a deep breath and calming every inch of my body. Then I airbent two jets of air, one from each arm, into the horns at the bottom of the woodcut. The air ran through the tubes and one by one flipped the air symbols from the blue sides which had been showing, to the maroon sides which had been facing the interior of the temple. As each turned, it flipped another mechanism on the outside of a door. All three of the symbols had to trigger each of their mechanisms in order to unlock the Temple door.  
When the doors opened and we walked in, we all came to a stop in shock.  
I was horrified.  
The temple sanctuary was filled with evil looking war machines and torture devices.  
"This is a nightmare," I murmured, my eyes clouding with tears and my heart feeling like it had been ripped from my chest.  
Just then, the mechanist's voice sounded behind us. "You don't understand."  
Fury and rage seared up within me.  
'Traitor!' was all I could think as I directed my increasing anger at him full force this time.  
I turned and pointed a finger at him in anger. "You're making weapons for the Fire Nation!"  
Alana's mouth dripped open in shock from where she stood behind him.  
"You make weapons for the Fire Nation!?" she snarled over his shoulder, making him wince.  
The mechanist looked down in humiliation.  
Cash was just as angry as Alana. "Explain all this! Now!"  
The mechanist sighed. "It was about a year after we moved here. Fire Nation soldiers found our settlement. You were too young to remember this tale. They were going to destroy everything, burn it to the ground. I pleaded with them, I begged them to spare us. They asked what I had to offer. I offered...my services. You must understand, I did this for you!"  
Cash turned his head and his wheelchair away. The mechanist turned and walked back down the hall, ashamed as well as he should be.  
I would have gone after him if I could have moved. But I was locked to the spot where I was standing, too shocked, to angry, to hurt to do anything but just stare after him, even a few minutes after he left. My entire body twitched with rage.  
After a moment, Kole came over and touched my shoulder, snapping me out of my trance. I jumped and shook myself before gritting my teeth and storming off toward the direction he went.  
"Odette where are you going?" Alana snapped, still irritated by the discovery.  
"I'm not going to just stand here and let him aid our enemy," I growled. "This time he'd gone too far!"  
"Wait!" Cash said, wheeling up to me hurriedly.  
"Cash, I don't want to hear it. I know he's your father but he has ruined my people's culture, history, and has gone against everything we believed in. The air nomads were never involved in violent affairs until he shoed up and it's going to end now!" I yelled, breathing heavily.  
He sighed and looked down sadly. "I know. I agree, and that's why I want to go with you."  
I blinked at him in surprise for a moment. He would really go against his own father like that? Wow.  
I considered for a moment before I nodded and we hurried away quickly. We went straight to the mechanics office. When we got there, I practically slammed open the door. He was playing with a balloon driven by a candle in a basket below it. There were two eggs in the basket with happy faces on them. When I opened the door, he let the balloon go and it rose toward the ceiling.  
"When are they coming?" I asked bluntly, calming my voice down. There was no use in yelling at him…he'd probably get an earful from his son anyways.  
"Soon." He looked at a clock candle which sparked once. "Very soon."  
I took a deep breath, calming farther. "You can't give them more weapons."  
"If I don't give them what they want they will destroy this place," he replied, fear showing on every inch of his face as he looked at his son.  
The balloon had floated over to us. It caught on fire at the end of the mechanist's sentence and fell on the floor and he moved to put out the flames by smothering it with a towel.  
"How can I be proud of you when your inventions are being used for murder?" Cash asked.  
"I need some time to think." After a pause, a little tinkling bell was heard. "You need to leave! Go!"  
Cash crossed his arms. "We're not leaving!"  
The mechanist shooed us behind some stuff. "Then hide, quickly!"  
He then pulled a lever and a wheel built into the floor began to turn rapidly. A trap door in the floor next to the wheel opened and steam rose through the opening. A man in Fire Nation garb rose through the opening. He was standing on a square of wood that became flush with the rest of the floor when the elevator completed its movement.  
"You know better than to keep me waiting," said and he approached the mechanist. "Give me what you owe us so I can be on my way."  
The mechanist looked down and I knew he was playing my words over in his head as he hesitated. I suddenly understood why he was so afraid. He had already lost his wife…now he ran the risk of losing his son, and all I'd done was give him a hard time about it.  
"Well?" the man snapped, putting his face in the mechanist's face. "Is there a problem?"  
The mechanist motioned out the door quickly. "No, right this way."  
No. I didn't care if he was afraid. I wasn't. If I had to, I would protect the temple at all costs…the Fire Nation would never set foot on this place again after today.  
The emissary began to move to the door, but it was shut by a blast of air from me. I landed in front of the closed door in a ready stance, angered that this man was the cause for all of the destruction and fear I had seen today.  
"The deal's off!" I hissed.  
The emissary's eyes widened. "The Avatar!"  
The mechanist held a warning arm out to me. "Odette, don't get involved!"  
The emissary pointed at the mechanist threateningly. "If I don't get what I came for the Fire Nation will burn this place to rubble!"  
I struck the emissary with an air whip. "Get out of here! You're leaving empty handed!"  
He pointed at me, grinning nastily. "Then the destruction of this temple will be on your head."  
I glared darkly at him as he went back down the elevator. I closed the trap door with a blast of air, cutting him off from us.  
Without wasting a second, Cash and I flew down to the same causeway to the satellite building we were on earlier. We ran into Alana and Kole and I hurriedly explained everything that had happened. As I spoke, their faces grew more upset and worried.  
Alana shook her head in distress, her dark brown hair blowing out in long wisps behind her. "This is bad! Very bad!"  
"Odette, what are we gonna do? How can we possibly keep them all away?" Kole asked. Both of the siblings identical sea blue eyes were troubled.  
"I'll tell ya how." I pointed to the sky. "We have something they don't. Air power! We control the sky. That' something the Fire Nation can't do. We can win!"  
"I want to help."  
I turned to see the mechanist approaching us, a determined look on his face.  
I smiled gratefully at him. 'Good, we'll need it."

By dusk, a large group of people including Cash, Kole, Alana and myself were all crowuded into the mechanist's office. The mechanist and Alana were running us through all the information that we needed.  
"We finally got the war balloon working, thanks to Alana," he said. "This girl's a genius!"  
Alana blushed and waved her hand. "Thank you. You're a genius!"  
The mechanist turned to her, smiling goofily. "Thank you!"  
Kole and I looked at each other strangely over this self-congratulatory exchange and I crossed my arms pointedly.  
Alana saw this and got back to the point.  
"See, the problem with the old war balloon was you could get it airborne, but once you did, it just kept going." She demonstrated with a model that went up and hit the ceiling. "You could put a hole in the top, but then all the hot air would escape. So the question became, how do you keep a lid on hot air?"  
"Ugh, if only we knew," Kole groaned, whispering in my ear.  
Cash, Kole, and I all laughed quietly. Alana went on working with another model, oblivious to our snickers. This balloon had a mechanism to open and close a lid on its top.  
"A lid is actually the answer. If you control the hot air, you control the war balloon." She demonstrated by pulling a string connected to the lid that opened and closed it.  
Kole nodded in surprise. "Hmm. That's actually pretty smart."  
Alana snorted at him before getting serious again. "Okay, we've got four kinds of bombs. Smoke, slime, fire and…"  
"...stink. Never underestimate the power of stink!" the mechanist jumped in.  
We went over our strategy plan before everyone dispersed and quickly got into our battle stations. I laid in wait, ready to defend the last traces of my history and pride eagerly. Many of the temple residents looked out over the edge of the lower terrace, nervous anticipation on everyone's faces.  
"They're coming!" a little girl suddenly shouted in terror and I felt my heart quicken in my chest.  
Cash turned to me worriedly. "Are we ready?"  
"Yes, but where's Alana with the war balloon?" Kole asked, looking up into the sky for the mechanist and his sister.  
I jumped off where I was on Emrys and opened my glider as I landed. "We'll have to start without her."  
Fang barked and ran over, following Kole as he took my place up on Emrys. Cash smiled and put on his goggles. The terrace had now become a landing strip. Two rows of gliders stood ready to launch, Cash and I near the head. Cash gave a thumbs up, then I began the launch sequence.  
With adrenalin pumping through me, I flew off, Cash right behind me and then the rest. The deck crews cheered as the gliders launched and took off in formation. As I flew overhead, I saw that the switchback path up to the Air Temple was choked with Fire Nation soldiers climbing up it. Up above them, Cash and I dove, the other gliders in tow. We broke through the cloud deck and started dropping various bombs on the surprised soldiers. Many fell off the path into the crevices below, missing their targets.  
"Take them out of the sky, now!" a Fire Nation officer shouted.  
The entire line - visible on two different switchbacks - of Fire Nation soldiers lowered their spears. They were quickly bombed by gliders. I jumped off my glider onto a switchback just above the most advanced part of the Fire Nation infantry column. As I jumped, I created and air scooter. I rode along the length of the switchback, dumping huge amounts of snow and ice on the soldiers below. When I reached the end of the switchback, I killed the air scooter and jumped back onto my glider which was gliding by me. The avalanche I created continued to drop downward, engulfing row after row of soldiers. Those left began to run back down the switchback path.  
"We've got'em on the run! We need more slime!" I ordered.  
Everyone flew to Emrys, who was hovering above the cloud deck. Kole handed bombs to gliders who popped up over Emrys and then disappeared back into the combat zone. Suddenly, several huge spikes shot up through the clouds, narrowly missing Emrys. The spikes were attached to chains that disappeared, taught, into the clouds. I flew up to see that the spikes had embed themselves deep into the rock near the Temple. I looked back to see Emrys flying hard to avoid the grappling hooks being thrown up all over the place.  
I followed the chain with my eyes back down the sheer mountain face. As I watched the squeaky wheels of tracked vehicles sounded. Then, Fire Nation tanks roared into view. With two, huge spiked wheels at each end, these heavily armored vehicles were using the grappling hooks to allow them to scale the cliff face. The gliders dropped bombs on them, but they had little effect.  
I flew up to the cliff face, stuck my glider staff into the naked rock, and pulled out one of the grappling hooks. The tank it was attached to began to drop like a rock, but it fired another grappling hook straight up, narrowly missing me. It caught on the rock above, yanked taught, and the tank slammed back into the mountain face and began its climb once again.  
The tanks climbed the cliff face and gained the small plateau area at the base of the Temple. The firebenders in the turrets began to fire blasts of flame, which the gliders avoided easily. They dropped more bombs, but they are ineffective against the Fire Nation armor. One firebender got slimed right as I dropped into the center of an advancing platoon of tanks. I literally blew them away - and upside down - with blasts of air, but the central cabins of the tanks just flipped over and they began advancing again. They shot more fire blasts at me and I avoided them.  
As soon as I was safe, I was immediately facing off alone against five tanks. They shot fireball after fireball at me, but I bated them away. They advanced on me steadily though and I was running out of ideas. A hook suddenly shot out and snagged my staff and I yanked hard against it but I was starting to get dragged across the ground as I was pulled towards a tank.  
Cash swooped down and deposited Kole next to me. He assumed a bending stance, concentrated, and stopped the forward momentum of one of the tanks with ice. Then, presumably bending the water within it, the tanks big wheels fell off. Kole came and joined me as I struggled against the grappling hook I was still straining against. Kole lifted the tank up with a wall of ice and it fell over, broken, freeing me and my staff. We quickly disposed of two tanks, but a full dozen now bore down on us.  
I jumped in front of Kole and started batting away fire blasts as the tanks closed in. Kole and I were suddenly blocked by the massive bulk of Emrys who landed in front of us, roared ferociously, and let out a massive gout of red hot fire. The flame had no effect on the tanks like everything else so she used her tail and knocked two tanks away. Kole and I jumped on Emrys and she took off, beating her wings fiercely as she shot into the sky.  
We surveyed the battlefield and it was clear that the situation was not good. Broken down tanks dotted the battlefield, but most were still advancing, now closely supported by infantry formations. We returned to the landing field terrace where Kole, Cash and I went into a hasty council, with Fang whimpering at us the entire time.  
"We're out of bombs!" Cash said, distressed.  
Kole rubbed his forehead in frustration. "Come on, Alana, where's that war balloon?"  
As Kole spoke, the war balloon rose behind him. The balloon was red and decked out with a Fire Nation symbol. It's removable top and tail fin give it a vaguely blimp like shape. The mechanist and Alana rode in the basket below the balloon. The basket also contained the coal burning plant that provided the heat for the balloon's air. Attached to the basket were four huge sacks of material used for ballast. The balloon moved out over the battlefield as the enemy armor advanced below.  
We were saved.

Alana:

We arrived just in time. I was a bit surprised when the troops down below didn't immediately start attacking us. Actually was a little disappointed.  
"Hey, why aren't they shooting at us?" I asked.  
The mechanist looked at them and then at the Fire Nation symbol. "The insignia! They think we're on their side!"  
"Then I guess they won't see this coming," I smirked as I cut a rope with my knife.  
The mechanist laughed. "Bomb away!"  
One of the ballast sacks dropped and blew in a huge explosion of slime on the ground. I dropped the other three bombs. The slime washed most of the infantry away, but the tanks continued on. They reached the next cliff to scale and began to use their grappling hooks.  
"Oh no! That was the last one!" I exclaimed, frustrated.  
The mechanist froze. "Wait a second," he said and sniffed the air. "You smell that?"  
I took a whiff and nearly gaffed. "Rotten eggs!"  
I leaned over and saw that we were passing over a crevasse.  
"There! That's where the gas is escaping!"  
I stared at it for a moment before I got an idea. I looked back to the tanks scaling the cliff and the Air Temple residents working furiously up top to dislodge the grappling hooks. Without wasting a second I began to ready the balloon's coal-burning plant to be thrown overboard.  
The mechanist was surprised. "What are you doing!? That's our fuel source!"  
"It's the only bomb we've got!" I shot back, not stopping.  
Together, we threw the coal furnace over board into the crevasse. It hit the sides on its way down with loud bangs. I looked towards the advancing Fire Nation soldiers and tanks as well as the nerve-wracked defenders. I was just losing hope when suddenly, the temple was buffeted by a series of enormous, fiery explosions at its base. The coal furnace had ignited the escaping natural gas. The temple was covered in smoke. When it cleared, the grappling hook chains dangled in the breeze with nothing attached to them. In the distance, the remaining Fire Nation troops were running back down the mountain.  
We did it.

Odette:

We all watched in relived amazement as the enemy fled.  
"Look! They're retreating!" I cried victoriously.  
Everyone around me too up my cheer and raised their fists in the air in triumph. "Yeh!"  
Suddenly the war balloon came into view, on a clear downward trajectory.  
"We're going down!" I heard Alana shout.  
"No! Alana! Hold on!" Kole shouted in horror.  
I sprung into action, unfolding my glider and taking off in one smooth action. The balloon's hot air was cooling rapidly, making it go down faster as I drew closer. Alana saw me and swung her boomerang around and I noticed it was attached to a rope.  
"Get ready!" she said to the mechanist.  
As I flew by, Alana threw the boomerang. It caught on my foot, pulling Alana and the mechanist clear off the falling balloon. Struggling under the weight a bit, I managed to fly us back up, while the balloon continued to fall. We returned to the main terrace and they dropped down safely next to Kole and Cash. I flew a bit more before exhaustion took me and I let myself drop stumbling as I hit the ground.  
Kole ran over to me and picked me up, cradling me against his chest as he carried me over to a circular stone bench not too far away. He sat down and I leaned my head against his shoulder, drained from the fight. I looked over and saw some of the black and white hermit crabs crawling around next to Kole's leg. I smiled slightly as I watched them. I turned my head slightly and spoke to the mechanist and Cash and the growing crowd that was watching me.  
"You know what? I'm really glad you guys all live here now. It's like the hermit crab," I said as I picked one up from the stone bench. "Maybe you weren't born here, but you found this empty shell and made it your home. And now you protect each other."  
This was the world now. The time I knew was gone, and the only visiting I would be able to do now would be through my memories. And that was okay, everything was going to be okay.  
Cash looked like he wanted to cry at my acceptance. "That means a lot coming from you."  
Alana smiled at me. "Odette, you were right about air power."  
She turned to the crowd and pointed to the sky, raising her voice loudly so everyone could hear her. "As long as we've got the skies we'll have the Fire Nation on the run!"  
I looked out over the terrace as gliders flew by. The crowd cheered Alana.  
It was a very good moment.

A Commander:

I watched in satisfaction as a group of Fire Nation soldiers stood around the fallen war balloon that had ruined out victory today. The were heating the air in the balloon, causing it to refill once again.  
"This defeat is the gateway to many victories," I said smugly. I smiled, gazing at the resurgent Fire Nation symbol on the side of the balloon as it finished refilling.


	19. Chapter 18: The Waterbending Master

Kole:

I watched as a koala otter backstroked across the water beneath us. He looked up a ducked beneath the waves as Emrys passed just overhead. Alana was leaning over Emrys's saddle, looking backwards over her dragon tail in the direction we came from.  
"I'm not one to complain, but can't Emrys fly any higher?" Alana said petulantly.  
Emrys was flying across an ice field in the open ocean. She was obviously tired. She glided lower, her claws brushing the water. I turned to look at her angrily, surprised by her lack of concern for Emrys.  
"I have an idea, why don't we all get on your back and you can fly us to the North Pole?" Odette growled from her spot at Emrys reins.  
"I'd love to! Climb on everyone." She wiggled her butt at everyone. "Alana's ready for takeoff!"  
Fang jumped up on Alana in response to her invitation.  
I sighed at their bickering. "Look, we're all just a little tired and cranky because we've been flying for two days straight."  
Alana groaned. "And for what? We can't even find the Northern Water Tribe. There's nothing up here."  
Suddenly a noise was heard up ahead. Ice was moving rapidly towards Emrys. Odette screamed and pulled Emrys's reigns to starboard. Emrys banked right and avoided the ice, but almost tipped us off the saddle and we hung on for dear life. Emrys then banked left as another jet of ice erupted out of the waves, but this one slammed into Emrys's underside, who dropped in an uncontrolled spin into the water. Out of the icebergs several ornate wooden skiffs came to surround Emrys. They were manned by people in water tribe garb.  
I gasped in amazement and excitement. "They're waterbenders! We found the Water Tribe!"  
As Emrys became trapped in the ice, we were surrounded by Water Tribe ships.  
We were finally here…

Odette:

I was so excited I felt like I was going to burst. I was finally going to get to learn waterbending. After everything we had been through, it was finally time!  
Emrys swam in formation with the Water Tribe boats, happy to not be flying even though the cold water was probably uncomfortable to her. I got up and pointed ahead, barely containing myself.  
"There it is!" I squealed.  
Just ahead was a massive ice wall with towers and turrets.  
"The Northern Water Tribe…" Kole said in wonder, just as excited as I was. I knew this trip would mean a lot to him too.  
"We're finally here…" Alana sighed.  
I looked over at one of the water tribe skiffs, where the waterbender crew waterbent in unison. we turned back to the city wall, where the waterbenders had removed a semi-circular opening to reveal a tunnel that led into the city. One of the waterbenders on the skiff motioned us forward and Emrys swam in. We looked all around inside the tunnel as Emrys swam in, then to the lock where the tunnel opened into. Overhead, we saw that the lock was square and that the waterbenders lined the tops of the lock's four walls. The three sides of the lock not adjacent to the main wall had water behind them almost to the height of the city wall. The waterbenders opened sluice gates along the three walls of the lock to raise the water level. The wall opposite the main city wall began to lower itself, ultimately to free a path for Emrys to continue.  
Kole was utterly amazed. "I can't believe how many waterbenders live up here!"  
"We'll find a master to teach us, no problem!" I said eagerly, itching to get started.  
The lock wall dropped beneath the water line, with a few boats waiting in the channel beyond as Emrys swam out. As she continued on lazily, we all smiled and looked around us in wonder.  
The city was incredible. It was made of ice and was completely breathtakingly beautiful. It also had three interior walls in addition to the main city walls. All the way in the back was Emrysrently some sort of citadel or temple. On the roof of one of the buildings in the city, an older man and a young boy watched as Emrys followed a Water Tribe skiff through the canals. Soon more people joined them. In fact, as we went, small crowds of people began to gawk at us from houses and foot bridges. I waved at them as we passed. The city was loaded with beautiful streams, waterfalls and fountains. We passed another boat with a waterbender and an extremely attractive young Water Tribe man with white, elaborately styled hair and a slightly purplish coat rather than the normal blue. Alana focused on him, blushed and tried to follow him by running down Emrys's tail.  
"This place is beautiful," Kole said in awe.  
Alana was still looking dreamily at the boy as the boat moved away. "Yeh, he is…"

Ren:

I stared up at the rapidly waning, almost new moon. We were currently stationed at a dock. The sound of a stringed instrument playing a simple staccato tune, and the rhythmic beating of drums filled the air. The musicians consisted of four men - including my uncle and the lieutenant - who were sitting around a camp fire on the main deck of the ship.  
Uncle Ira was singing slightly out of tune along with the music and resisted the urge to clamp my hands over my ears to keep them from bleeding.  
"Winter, spring, summer and fall. Winter and spring, summer and fall. Four seasons, four loves. Four seasons, four loves," he sang.  
During the song, two crewmen danced in front of the fire. From where I sat in the shadows, I smiled slightly, for some reason that infuriating girl returning to my thoughts once again. Before I could dwell on it too much though, I shook my head and snapped out of it. Thoroughly irritated by the music, I decided to call it a night and stomped off to my cabin.

Odette:

Later that night, we watched as three Water Tribe men played huge kettle drums in unison. We were in a plaza near the main citadel. A huge fountain dominated the rear of the plaza and on either side huge pews made out of ice provided seating for many onlookers. We were seated at the city dignitaries table at the head of the plaza as the guests of honor.  
Alana was on the far side and down below Emrys was resting happily. A couple of attendants brought her a huge pallet of food. She roared and then and they ran screaming in terror as the dragon bared her teeth. Alana smiled in amusement as Emrys began to eat, her sapphire blue eyes darting around uncertainly. At the center of the plaza, I watched curiously as four attendants lowered some sort of huge steaming platter of food or something onto a stage in front of us.  
Chief Hale stood to address the crowd. "Tonight, we celebrate the arrival of our brother and sister from the Southern Tribe, and they have brought with them someone very special, someone whom many of us believed disappeared from the world until now. The Avatar!"  
The crowd cheered wildly and I smiled and waved at them. Fang raised his head from where it had been resting in my lap, attracted by all the attention I was getting.  
"We also celebrate my son's 16th birthday." The chief backed up and aside to reveal the beautifully handsome boy with the white hair - flanked by two attendants - walking up to the table. They all bowed, smiling. "Prince Falcon is now of marrying age."  
I looked to my side and noticed that Alana was looking at him with wide eyes and I held back a giggle of amusement.  
"Thank you, father. May the great Ocean and Moon Spirits watch over us during these troubled times," the prince said, his blue eyes warm as he gazed over his subjects.  
"Now, Master Sorren and his students will perform!" the chief announced and motioned towards three men who now stood on the dais in front of the fountain opposite the dignitaries' table.  
The center man was clearly the eldest with a bald head but had long white hair on the sides of his head that flowed down his back. They began waterbending water from three enormous amphorae in front of them. The crowd began to cheer and Kole and I looked at each in utter delight while we also clapped. As the waterbending show continued, Alana stuffed her face full of food. A figure walked behind her and sat down next to her. It was Prince Falcon.  
This should be entertaining.  
She gulped her mouthful and tried to strike a cool pose next to him.  
"Hi, there. Alana, Southern Water Tribe," she said in a cheesy voice.  
Prince Falcon smiled and bowed slightly. "Very nice to meet you."  
"So...uh...you're a Prince!" Alana said after a brief pause, trying desperately to strike up a conversation.  
He nodded and smiled.  
"You know, back in my tribe, I'm kinda like a Princess myself!" she boasted and Kole snorted loudly beside me.  
"Ha! Prince of what?" he laughed and I elbowed him but he ignored me.  
"A lot of things! Uh, do you mind? I'm trying to have a conversation here!" Alana snapped, angry.  
Kole smirked with a mock bow. "My apologies, Princess Alana."  
Alana turned back to Falcon and tried to recover. "So it looks like I'm gonna be in town for awhile. I'm thinking maybe we could...do an activity together?"  
Prince Falcon was amused. "Do an 'activity'?"  
Alana, sweating, paused and then stuffed her mouth with some stuff on the table. Kole was clearly enjoying his sister's lame attempt at courting.  
"Very smooth," he nodded and she blushed.  
I laughed and then turned my attention back to the plaza fountain. In front of it stood the Chief and Master Sorren. I stood and walked over to greet them excitedly.  
Chief Hale gestured grandly to me. "Master Sorren, meet your newest student, the Avatar."  
I bowed respectfully.  
Master Sorren eyed me shrewdly. "Just because you're destined to save the world, don't expect any special treatment."  
I tried to ignore that. "My friend and I can't wait to start training with you – after we relax for a couple days."  
"If you want to relax, then I suggest visiting a tropical island. If not, I'll see you both at sunrise. Good night," he growled and walked away.  
I stared after him open mouthed - surprised by his blunt rudeness - and Chief Hale merely shrugged at the master's behavior.

Ren:

I rolled over restlessly, my cabin room on the ship dark as night as I tried to slow my racing mind. My arms were folded across my chest irritably as sleep continued to evade me. The door at the far end of the cabin opened suddenly and someone leaned in. Though my back remained to the cabin door, I didn't have to look to know it would be my uncle. I did not look at him as I spoke.  
"For the last time, I'm not playing the sumki horn," I snapped. The man had already asked me like five times.  
"No, it's about our plans. There's a bit of a problem."  
I frowned. His voice sounded off; it was too…edgy.  
I sat up and turned just as my worst nightmare entered the room behind Uncle.  
"I'm taking your crew," Drake said bluntly.  
"What!?" I roared, leaping to my feet. I was beyond rage.  
"I've recruited them for a little expedition to the North Pole," he replied, as calm as ever, a smirk on his face. I wanted to wack it right of his repulsive, snake-like mug.  
"Uncle, is that true?" I growled, knowing the answer already.  
"I'm afraid so. He's taking everyone." He put his arm over his face in woe. "Even the cook!"  
Drake's smirk grew. "Sorry you won't be there to watch me capture the Avatar. But I can't have you getting in my way again."  
I charged him in anger, but Uncle prevented me from tackling Drake, who walked over to inspect the curved broadswords on my wall – the same swords I'd used to free Odette. Drake's face swelled in anger as he recognized the blades. As he took one off the wall, my eyes went wide in alarm and my mouth fell open slightly. My heart hammered a mile a minute in my chest as I realized the danger I was in. Thankfully, Uncle had no knowledge bout my other half - the Blue Spirit, so I didn't have to worry about him giving anything away.  
Drake began practicing with the sword he had removed from the wall, swinging it about calculatingly.  
"I didn't know you were skilled with broadswords, Prince Ren," he asked suspiciously.  
Thinking fast I controlled my expression and resumed my usual defiant attitude toward him. "I'm not. They're antiques. Just decorative."  
"Have you heard of the Blue Spirit, General Ira?" he asked my uncle.  
Uncle shrugged. "Just rumors. I don't think he is real."  
Drake snorted. "He's real all right. He's a criminal, an enemy of the Fire Nation." He handed the broad sword to Uncle. "But I have a feeling that justice will catch up with him soon."  
I glared, hearing the warning in his voice. I'd like to see him try and do anything to me. I would bring him down in two seconds flat.  
Drake moved to exit the cabin. "General Ira, the offer to join my mission still stands if you change your mind."  
He closed the door behind him with a loud bang, leaving us alone in the dark.

Odette:

The next morning, Kole and I were walking up a huge ice staircase up to the citadel.  
"I've waited for this day my whole life! I finally get to learn from a real waterbending master!" he was saying excitedly.  
As we reached the top, I spotted Master Sorren manipulating a blob of water and we hurried over to him excitedly.  
"Good morning, Master Sorren!" I said brightly.  
Master Sorren dropped the water blob with a grimace. "No, please, march right in, I'm not concentrating or anything."  
I shuffled my feet uncertainly. "Uhh...this is my friend, Kole, the one I told you about?"  
Kole bowed while I introduced him. Master Sorren looked over at him as if he were a bug.  
Master Sorren created an ice chair for him to sit down in. "I'm sorry. I think there's been a misunderstanding. You didn't tell me your friend was a fledgling. In our tribe, it is forbidden for fledglings to learn waterbending."  
I gaped at him while Kole's body stiffened, reflecting the anger he feet.  
"What do you mean you won't teach me?" he snapped, stalking up to Sorren. "I didn't travel across the entire world so you could tell me "no"!"  
Master Sorren smirked. "No."  
"But there must be other female waterbenders in your tribe!" Kole yelled, outraged. Even I had to admit it was ridiculous. How did he have students if the master wouldn't take fledglings?  
"Here the fledglings learn first from Vivian to use their waterbending to heal. I'm sure she would be happy to take you as her student despite your bad attitude," Sorren snapped.  
Kole didn't back down. "I don't want to heal, I want to fight!"  
"I can see that. But our tribe has customs, rules," he replied cooly.  
"Well your rules stink!" Kole yelled and I decided it was time to intervene.  
"Yeh! They're not fair. If you won't teach Kole, then –"  
Master Sorren stood up, interrupting me. "Then what?"  
"Then I won't learn from you!" I turned and began to walk away.  
"Well have fun teaching yourself. I'm sure you'll do a great job!"  
"Wait!" Kole said to Sorren. "Odette didn't mean that."  
Yes I did.  
He ran over to my retreating figure and grabbed me by the shoulder to stop me.  
"You can't risk your training for me. You have to learn from Master Sorren. Even if he is a big jerk," Kole said, venom in his voice as he glared at the master.  
Not liking this one but, I nodded my head glumly, and swung my body around lazily to face my new master.  
"Why don't we get started then," he said smugly.  
He waterbent a huge rush of water at me, knocking me flat on my back.

Alana:

I ran over a footbridge that spanned one of the city's many canals. Beneath the bridge, I spotted Prince Falcon's boat slowly moving along.  
"Prince Falcon! Good morning!" I called as I came up beside his boat on the sidewalk along the side of the canal. I started walking with his boat as it floated down. "Hey, how about that picnic last night? Boy, your Dad sure knows how to throw a party."  
Prince Falcon smiled at me warmly. "I'm happy you enjoyed yourself."  
"Well, it wasn't as much fun after you left," I said.  
Prince Falcon looked away, blushing in the most adorable way. I smiled a huge toothy smile and blushed too.  
"So, I'm still hoping we can see more of each other," I ventured, really hoping he would take me for some kind of stalker or something.  
Prince Falcon laughed and the sound made butterflies erupt in my stomach. "Do an "activity", you mean?"  
"Yes! At...a place! For...some time!" I said, my eyes wide with excitement.  
"I'd love to!" he said and I could have melted right then and there. He pointed ahead to a bridge in front of us. "I'll meet you on that bridge tonight."  
"Great! I'll see you – aahh!"  
Too late, I realized that the sidewalk had ended but I had been too busy gawking at Falcon to realize it. Falcon laughed and waved goodbye to me as I hauled myself out of the water.  
"Sorry!" he laughed.  
"That's okay, it was worth it," I said to myself as I fell over backwards to lay flat on the sidewalk. "See you tonight."

Kole:

I reached the outside of a building in the city that was supposedly Vivian's place and entered hesitantly. Inside, a man sized dummy lied flat on a stone bed in the middle of the main chamber. The dummy had pathways or channels etched all over its surface. A hand bent water through the pathways which flowed white the same way my hands had when I'd healed myself in Aries camp. Around the stone bed sat half a dozen students while the teacher, an old woman, demonstrated. I shyly entered the room on my left.  
"Um, hi. Are you Vivian?" I asked.  
The woman nodded. "Are you here for the healing lesson?"  
I surveyed the room. The students all looked at leas a year younger than me. I looked at the ground glumly.  
"I guess I am," I said, walking forward and sitting down.  
Vivian smiled widely. "Welcome! Welcome!"  
I sighed, hoping that at least Odette was having better luck than I was.

Odette:

I moved around a blob of water while Master Sorren - sitting cross-legged with a bowl of steaming soup in front him - gave instruction. I was unhappy and sullen - he was the most irritating teacher on the planet.  
"You're moving the water around, but you're not feeling the push and pull," he said.  
"I'm trying!" I growled, gritting my teeth.  
Master Sorren lifted the soup and sucked out some food from it. "Maybe that move is too advanced for you. Why don't you try an easier one?"  
I threw the water to the ground in frustration.

Kole:

This had been the worst lesson in my life. I watched boredly as young students took the dummy out on its stretcher, leaving Vivian and I alone. I walked over to my teacher - even though I hadn't enjoyed a second of it I still owed this woman thanks for taking time to teach me something.  
"Thanks for the lesson," I said.  
Vivian smiled. "So, who's the lucky girl?"  
"Huh?"  
Vivian pointed at my pocket and I glanced down to see my mother's necklace hanging out slightly. "Your betrothal necklace. You're getting married, right?"  
I smiled, Odette coming to mind. But I ignored the mental image of the necklace on her and decided it would be safe to give Vivian only a half truth. "No, I don't think I'm ready for that yet. My grandmother gave my mother this necklace, and my mother passed it down to me."  
Vivian looked closely at the necklace. "I recognize this carving! I don't know why I didn't realize sooner! You're the spitting image of Kana!"  
I started backwards in surprise. "Wait, how do you know my Gran-Gran's name?"  
"When I was about your age I was friends with Kana. She was born here, in the Northern Tribe," she said, her eyes wide.  
I looked away, stunned. "She never told me."  
Vivian continued without missing a beat. "Your grandmother had an arranged marriage with a young waterbender. He carved that necklace for her."  
"If Gran-Gran was engaged, why did she leave?"  
Vivian shrugged. "I don't know. That's always been a mystery to me. She left without saying goodbye…"

Ren:

I was still lying in bed in my cabin, just as I had been for almost three hours. The door opened and Uncle stuck his head in.  
"The crew wanted me to wish you safe travels," he said.  
I snorted, hoping my "crew" all got burned to a crisp. "Good riddance to those traitors."  
Uncle sighed and paused for a moment. "It's a lovely night for a walk. Why  
don't you join me? It would clear your head." He sighed again when I refused to respond. "Or, just stay in your room and sit in the dark. Whatever makes you happy."  
Uncle leaved, closing the door behind him.  
Now it was my turn to sigh.  
Maybe he was right…nothing good would happen if I just wallowed around all day. So I'd hit another bump in the broken down road that was my life. It shouldn't bother me much; I hit bumps almost every hour. And plus…Drake would not stop until he had the girl. He already had a head start and was almost as determined as I was.  
Almost.  
If he would not stop, neither would I. I would not rest, I would not eat, I would not even blink until I had the girl safely away from him. She was mine, my destiny…not his, and nothing was going to take her away from me. As soon as my Uncle got back, I was going after Drake, with a crew or no crew. I was NOT going to come in second to him anymore.  
Suddenly, there was a massive bang from somewhere on the ship and I sat straight up in bed, alarmed. Something was wrong…with Uncle out walking, no one was supposed to be on this ship besides me. Maybe he had come back…  
I got up. "Uncle?"  
I opened my door to look out into the corridor. "Uncle, is that you?"  
Nothing.  
I jumped out into the hallway in a fighting stance. Warily, I advanced to the bridge, ready for instant combat around every corner. I walked around the bridge and found absolutely nothing wrong. Confused, I turned and looked out one of the bridge windows to see a green parrot…just sitting there staring at me with evil beady eyes. It croaked at me and then took off. My eyes flew open with terror as the realization of what the bird's appearance meant struck me.  
The pirates!  
It was too late. I spun and saw a trail of lit gunpowder reaching barrels of what I suspected was blasting jelly. I threw my arms up to protect myself as the bridge deck and main deck exploded, blasting me out the bridge window.

Alana:

I headed to the canal in the Northern Water City, my heart hammering in my chest. It was night and time for me to meet Falcon. I ran up the winding staircase attached to the bridge where Falcon waited to meet me. A littler nervous, I sidled up to him.  
He looked disturbed.  
"Hi, Prince Falcon," I said offering him something. "I made you something. I carved it myself."  
I held out my hand. In it rested a rudely carved wooden object.  
Prince Falcon stared at it for a moment, his face unchanging. "It's a bear."  
"Actually, it's a fish," I said, blushing in embarrassment. I turned it sideways so he could see it better. "See it has a fin."  
"Oh," he said lamely. Suddenly his face darkened and he looked at me with saddened eyes. "I'm sorry! I made a mistake. I shouldn't have asked you to come here!"  
Falcon turned and practically ran away from me and disappeared into the night. Stunned and hurt, I threw the carving into the canal in anger.  
Men!

Odette:

Alana, Kole and I were all staying in a small house in the Water City. Inside, we were all sitting on a huge rug together, depressed looks on all our faces.  
"How's warrior training going?" I asked Alana glumly.  
In response she kicked a bag on the floor in anger, fell to her knees, and then flopped on the bag, using it as a pillow.  
I quirked an eyebrow. "That bad?"  
"No, it's Prince Falcon. I don't get it. One minute he wants to go out with me and the next he's telling me to get lost!" She paused her annoyed rant. "So how's waterbending training?"  
Kole flopped onto his sleeping bag, depressed. His hood flopped over his head.  
I frowned, equally as annoyed with my horrible master as he was. "Master Poophead won't teach him because he's a fledgling."  
Alana frowned and looked at us like we were idiots. "Why don't you just teach her, Odette?"  
Kole raised his head with a smile and turned to me. "Why didn't I think of that? At night, you can teach whatever moves you learned from Master Sorren. That way you have someone to practice with and I get to learn waterbending. Everyone's happy!"  
Alana raised her eyebrows pointedly. "I'm not happy."  
Kole waved his hand dismissively. "But you're never happy. Come on, Odette."  
He left with me in tow and Alana remaining lying down, a sour expression on her face.  
Kole and I walked through the darkened streets for a while before we came to a stop in a quiet dark corner at a canal. We were on some sort of ledge or small plaza that ended with steps that went down into the canal water.  
breathing deeply, I raised a whip of water out of the canal.  
"Master Sorren said this move is all about sinking and floating," I explained as I demonstrated.  
I sent the water over to Kole who started to bend it.  
"I got it!" he cried, elated.  
The water began to whip around him very fast, then up and out of sight entirely. I held the sides of my head in excitement.  
"That was amazing!" I exclaimed.  
"That wasn't me," Kole said, confusion all over his face.  
We both looked up to see Master Sorren standing on the bridge above us. He had the water Kole had been bending. He froze it and broke into pieces in a showered of icicles that embed themselves in the bridge before him.  
"I...I was just showing Kole a few moves," I tried hurriedly, my eyes wide with guilt and fright.  
Master Sorren merely looked at me with cold unforgiving eyes. "You have disrespected me, my teachings, and my entire culture."  
"I'm sorry, I –"  
"You are no longer welcome as my student," he growled.  
He turned and walked away, leaving us behind, astonished.

Kole:

Without wasting any time, I took Odette straight to the chief. Once there, I explained everything that had happened and he called for an assembly. Once everyone was there - including my sister - I once again explained. There was no way I was going to let Odette take the fall for my selfishness.  
I just wouldn't let go of the bending thing and because of my stupidity I'd possibly cost her the only chance she might have at learning waterbending. I'd never felt so low before.  
Everyone was in the plaza where the feast was held. Alana, Odette, and I all stood in front of the Chief, Prince Falcon, Master Sorren, and what looked to be the tribe's council who all sat on a dais.  
Chief Hale just wouldn't listen to my pleas. "What do you want me to do? Force Master Sorren to take Odette back as his student?"  
"Yes – please!" I argued, like I had been for at least ten minutes now.  
Chief Hale glared at me. "I suspect he might change his mind if you swallow your pride and apologize to him."  
The idea was hateful to me and it showed. My eyes moved to Odette and she turned to look at me, her beautiful grey eyes wide…obviously not knowing what to do with the situation. I sighed, my anger subsiding as I looked at her wonderful face. I turned, back, clearly unhappy.  
"Fine."  
Master Sorren smiled smugly. "I'm waiting, little boy."  
Furious, my hand balled up instantly to a fist at this insult and I snapped. "No! No way am I apologizing to a sour old man like you!"  
As I spoke, cracks opened in the floor beneath me as my waterbending abilities began to get out of control. I ended up pointing directly at Master Sorren, my finger almost in his face. At the conclusion of my statement, the massive water pots at either end of the dais exploded, shattering glass everywhere.  
Odette looked around nervously. "Uh, Kole…"  
I ignored her. This was between me and Sorren alone.  
"I'll be outside – if you're man enough to fight me!" I growled, a look of challenge on my face.  
Prince Falcon drew breath in surprise as the men stiffened. While the others stood frozen, I stormed out of the building.  
"I'm sure he didn't mean that," I heard Odette say reasonably.  
"Yeh, I think he did," Alana piped up.

Ren:

I looked darkly from my position at the side of the room. My Uncle and Drake were having tea opposite each other at a low table. A map of the world hanging on the wall occupied much of the space behind them.  
"I'm devastated to hear about Prince Ren," Drake said cheesily. "Just devastated."  
I smirked at Uncle's pained face, his eyes closed.  
"The Fire Lord will not be pleased he learns who was responsible," he said.  
Drake, suspicious, frowned. "You know who...was behind the attack?"  
"Yes…" he slammed table with his fist. "Pirates! We had a run in with them awhile back."  
Drake's frown turned to a smile.  
"They wanted revenge," Uncle continued, playing his part splendidly.  
Drake spoke again after taking a sip of tea. "So, have you reconsidered my offer?"  
Uncle bowed. "Yes, I accept. It will be an honor to serve as your general."  
He raised his glass in a toast. "To the Fire Nation!"  
Drake raised his glass as well. "To victory!"

Kole:

The three of us walked down the long steps of the citadel.  
Alana was, as usual, being paranoid. "Are you crazy, Kole? You're not gonna win this fight!"  
I took off my coat and threw it at Alana, hitting her in the face. "I know! I don't care!"  
Odette was clearly upset, and I felt bad that I was causing her such distress…but this was something that I had to take care of. I was no fledgling.  
"You don't have to do this for me. I can find another teacher," she pleaded.  
"I'm not doing it for you! Someone needs to slap some sense into that guy!" I snapped, not meaning to sound so cross with her but too angry to control my temper.  
We reached the bottom of the steps as Master Sorren appeared at the top. I turned and sneer at him.  
"So, you decided to show up?"  
He simply walked past me. "Aren't you gonna fight?"  
"Go back to the healing huts with the other fledglings where you belong," he said without turning.  
Insanely angry, I drew a water whip out of the ground and whipped Sorren on the back on the neck. He stopped and I grinned nastily.  
Sorren turned to face me. "Fine. You want to learn to fight so bad, study closely!  
On either side of the plaza at the bottom of the steps there were two huge pools. Sorren grabbed most of the water in each and bent it around himself. Unafraid, I ran at him, but was flung backwards when I was hit by the water. I stood again, now perhaps ten feet from Sorren. He bent the water in a wall around both of us. It spun faster and faster creating a whirlpool effect.  
"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you!" Sorren said mockingly.  
The whirlpool constricted, but before I was knocked back down I swung my arm, almost as if I were swinging a baseball bat, deflecting the wall of water off on a different trajectory. The errant wall of water hit Alana and blew her backwards with an exclamation of "OW!"  
Not stopping to make sure my sister was okay, I ran at Sorren with a water whip. He raised a ramp of ice in front of me which I slid up and then back flipped off, landing neatly on the guardrail of the citadel steps behind Sorren. He liquefied the ramp and threw it at me while catching my feet in ice. The wave broke around me, however, as I bent it out of the way.  
"You can't knock me down!" I snarled.  
The crowd behind me cheers.  
Odette's voice was the loudest. "Go Kole!"  
Very angry and determined, I bore down on him. Sorren raised a sheet of ice between him and my raging form. I liquefied the ice as I reached it and threw several blows at Sorren, one of which narrowly missed his face, before he washed me out of his way and into one of the pools with a wave of water.  
Sorren smiled with satisfaction as I broke the surface of the water and the crowd cheered. I then raised a circular pedestal of ice out of the fountain pool and began to shoot slivers of the top of the pedestal at Sorren. He broke them as they arrived with swift Tai Chi movements. The last one however narrowly passed to the left side of his face.  
When it was gone, he turned back to me with a bewildered and, perhaps, somewhat impressed look on his face. I bent a stream of water around me which I threw at Sorren, who caught it and began to twirl it around him. I ran at him again, but he washed me backwards and onto my behind when he released the stream of water. I looked over at Odette and Alana, who were awaiting in stunned anticipation of the outcome.  
By this point, I was starting feel my energy drain, my hair was disheveled, and I was breathing heavily. I jumped back up in a bending stance, ready for more. I made a motion and the segmented pillars of ice behind Sorren collapsed, narrowly missing him.  
"Well, I'm impressed. You are an excellent water bender," he said, a mocking edge still in his tone.  
"But you still won't teach me, will you?"  
"No."  
With a cry of effort, I raised water near my feet, froze it, and sent it in a rolling wave along the floor to Sorren, who was raised up on a pillar of ice when the wave reached him. He liquefied the base of the ice column and began to flow forward on it, like an iceberg riding along a river. I had risen my own stream of water and knocked him off his iceberg, but Sorren grabbed my water and froze it in an arc around me while he slid around. As he exited the arc he knocked me down, my mother's necklace falling to the ice near me.  
Sorren raised a huge column of water out of one of the pools, making a whirlpool out of it in the air and then freezing it into shards while the whirlpool disintegrated. I was now standing in front of Sorren, but the shards landed closely all around me. I was trapped.  
I struggled in vain against my prison of ice, my hands and arms unable to move.  
Master Sorren walked towards me. "This fight is over."  
"Come back here! I'm not finished yet!" I screeched.  
"Yes, you are."  
He suddenly stopped in surprise, picking up the necklace.  
"This is my necklace!" he said in wonder.  
"No it's not, it's mine! Give it back!" I growled, hating his filthy hands on it.  
"I made this sixty years ago – for the love of my life." As he spoke my ice prison liquefied, freeing me. "For Kana."  
I balked. "My Gran-Gran was supposed to marry you?"

Ren:

I watched as my Uncle walked down a corridor in Drake's ship while I walked in the other direction. We stopped within abreast of each other and began to whisper.  
"Our plan is working perfectly. Drake doesn't suspect a thing," he whispered to me.  
I removed my stolen guard mask. "You didn't have to do this."  
After Drake had tried to kill me, I'd swam to the shore and found my Uncle. Once we'd figured out what had happened, we found Drake's ship, snuck me onboard, and stolen a Fire Nation guard uniform.  
Uncle smiled. "No nephew of mine is going to stow away on a ship without some backup!"  
I was going to forever be eternally grateful to this man. "Thank you, Uncle."  
Uncle froze, hearing a sound. "Someone's coming!"  
I replaced my mask as he continued to give me orders. "Stay hidden until we get to the North Pole and the Avatar will be yours! Good luck!"  
Yes…this time I would make sure I came out victorious. And Drake would get to see me take away his victory before I burned him to a crisp.  
I grinned in anticipation.

Kole:

Master Sorren was still holding the necklace, sadly. "I carved this necklace for your grandmother when we got engaged. I thought we would have a long, happy life together. I loved her."  
"But she didn't love you, did she? It was an arranged marriage," I guessed.  
I looked over at Falcon and Alana. I saw the Prince's eyes become saddened at my pronouncement.  
I walked up to Sorren. "Gran-Gran wouldn't let your tribe's stupid customs run her life. That's why she left. It must have taken a lot of courage."  
Suddenly, Falcon drew a deep breath and ran away. Odette came over and rested a hand on my sister's shoulder.  
"Go get him," she murmured.  
Without needing anything more than that, Alana ran after him.

Alana:

I literally spent the rest of the day looking for him. In a city in this big, he could have gone anywhere and it was impossible to figure out where he went. The day turned into night, and eventually, I found Falcon standing alone on the same bridge we had been on the night before. His expression hardened as he heard me approaching.  
"What do you want from me?" he asked quietly.  
"Nothing. I just want you to know, I think you're amazing...and, I never thought a guy like you would even notice a girl like me."  
Prince Falcon sighed. "You don't understand."  
I shook my head, my heart clenching painfully as I spoke. "No, no, see, that's the thing. I think I do understand now. You're a prince, and I...I'm just a southern peasant."  
Falcon looked at me in shock. "No, Alana…"  
I sighed. "It's okay. You don't have to say anything." I turned to leave. "I'll see ya around, okay?"  
Suddenly he grabbed me and kissed me hard on the mouth.  
"Okay, now I'm really confused! Happy – but confused!" I said, a little breathily.  
He held my hands in his. "I do like you! A lot. But, we can't be together – and not for the reason you think. It's because…" he sighed and looked away "...I'm engaged. I'm sorry!"  
He turned away from me and once again disappeared from my sight.

Odette:

We stood in the training plaza, the ruined pillars of ice visible from the battle the day before between Kole and Sorren. Near the steps, several students, including me, stood before Master Sorren. I was waterbending around a ball of water. I threw the ball of water after a few motions.  
Master Sorren nodded. "Not bad! Not bad! Heheh! Keep practicing and maybe you'll get it by the time you're my age!"  
I looked him, momentarily unhappy, but then turned with a smile at the sound of footsteps behind me.  
Kole was running to the group.  
"Hey Kole!" I said excitedly.  
After everything went down yesterday, Sorren had finally caved and let Kole join in the lessons as his student.  
He bowed to Sorren.  
Master Sorren's stare turned icy and I gulped, praying that he wasn't about to change his mind and make Kole leave.  
"What do you think you're doing? It's past sunrise." He smiled. "You're late."  
I laughed and punched Kole on the shoulder lightly. "Good to see ya here."  
Kole smiled at me, happy as a clam. "You too."

Ren:

I stood on the upper decks of Drake's ship, watching silently as Uncle and Drake walked on the outside walkway around the bridge.  
"My fleet is ready. Set a course for the Northern Water Tribe," Drake said.  
I looked behind me to see dozens of Fire Navy ships firing up their engines in preparation to launch the final assault on the Northern Water Tribe.  
This was going to be one interesting battle….


	20. Chapter 19: The Siege of the North 1

Odette:

I watched excitedly with the rest of the class as Kole faced off with another student. The segmented ice columns that Kole had toppled during the duel between him and Sorren had been repaired. It was morning and everyone was at the training plaza, practicing dueling.  
Kole's opponent was a nervous looking teenage boy whose left eye twitched slightly in anxiety. Kole looked very confident, a slight smile on his face. The boy raised up a ball of water, turned it to ice, and threw it at his opponent. Kole bended the ice around him, liquefied it, and sent a huge stream of water back at the boy who was washed up and backwards. As he was washed away, the water turned to ice, imprisoning him about ten feet of the ground. Kole relinquished his waterbending stance while Sorren approached from over his shoulder.  
"Nice try, Pupil Sam. A couple of more years and you might be ready to fight a sea sponge," Sorren said, ever the complimenter.  
Pupil Sam continued to struggle against his bonds. Master Sorren turned away, made a motion with his left hand, and the ice prison melted, dropping the hapless student to the ground. Sorren turned to the rest of the students who were sitting slumped on the ground.  
"Would anyone care for a rematch with Kole?"  
They all shook their heads.  
Master Sorren sighed at their cowardly behavior. "Kole, you have advanced more quickly than any student I have ever trained. You have proven that with fierce determination, passion and hard work you can accomplish anything. Raw talent alone is not enough."  
He looked directly at me when he said this. I was lying on the ground, floating Fang around on an airball, a lazy smile on my face.  
"Pupil Odette," he snapped, grabbing my attention.  
Fang's airball dissipated and he fell on my head.  
"Yes, Master Sorren?" I said, a smile on my face.  
"Care to step into the sparring circle? I figure since you've found time to play with house pets you must have already mastered water bending," he said, annoyed.  
I airbended myself to my feet.  
"I wouldn't say "mastered", but check this out!"  
I spun around, collecting snow around me as I went. When I was done, I had made myself into a snowman. Fang pounced on me and knocked me down. I looked over at Sorren and Kole who wore similar expressions of disdain.  
Master Sorren shook his head in disgust.

Alana:

I was walking on top of a bridge's guard rail, Falcon beside me, holding my hand to "make sure I didn't fall."  
"So they don't have palaces in the Southern Tribe?" he asked me as we walked.  
I stopped and sat down on the rail. "Are you kidding? I grew up in a block of ice. It's not exactly a cultural hub."  
Falcon laughed with a warm smile and pulled me to him, hugging me tightly. After a moment he pulled back and looked at me seriously.  
"Alana, this is wrong," he said.  
I groaned even though I knew he was right. "What's wrong? We're taking a walk!"  
Prince Falcon sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I'm engaged. It just... Feels…"  
My smile waned as he began to walk away, but the smile returned as I got an idea.  
"I know what you need!" I said and hopped off the rail to stand by his side. "You need to meet my good friend Emrys!"  
Falcon frowned. "Who?"  
I smiled and took him to where they were keeping the big dragon. After a few moments of walking we entered Emrys's pen. She was eating from an enormous pile of meat in front of her. Smiling like a goofball, I opened my arms to Emrys.  
"Emrys and I go way back. Don't we girl?" I said, nudging her pointedly.  
The thunder of Emrys's shifting bulk was heard and my features turned to surprise. Emrys suddenly came over and pinned me down with her big foot.  
"Ahh! Easy!" I cried.  
Emrys licked me from bottom to top – twice.  
"Down girl! Ahh! No! Up!" I shouted as she held me down.  
Falcon laughed. "Looks like you haven't been giving Emrys enough attention."  
I struggled to try and free myself from Emrys's embrace. Once I did, Falcon and I clumbed up into Emrys's saddle.  
"So how does this work?" he asked, looking around nervously.  
"You hangin' on tight?" I asked as he gripped my hand.  
"Mmm hmm."  
"Yip…yip!"  
Emrys soared into the nearly cloudless sky.  
"Oh...my...goodness!" Falcon cried in surprise as the dragon shot into the air, roaring as she stretched her wings.  
We looked down at the city and the waters outside the main gate. Emrys flew effortlessly through the sky, beating her massive wings.  
"Wow! I can't believe you do this every day!" Falcon said, his clear blue eyes bright with excitement.  
I stretched. "Yeh, we pretty much live up here."  
Falcon hugged himself, shivering. "Is it always this cold in the sky?"  
He pulled me over and I snuggled up to him.  
I smiled. "Not when you're with someone."  
I looked up at him to see him staring at me, a slight smile on his face.  
"It's beautiful up here," he said.  
"Yeh…" I replied, my mind blanking as I looked back into his eyes.  
There was a silent pause between us while we looked at each other with adoration. He leaned closer and we came close to kissing before I broke it off.  
"Whoo! Yeh! Good times! Good times!" I said, blushing as I remembered his engagement.  
Around us, small snowflakes began to fall.  
I pointed down. "Hey, look!"  
We looked down as Emrys flew into a squall of the snowflakes. Strangely, most of the snowflakes were black.  
Falcon looked around in alarm. "What's happening?"  
"Oh no," I whispered, my heart sinking to the bottom of my feet as the black snow continued to fall everywhere.  
We landed Emrys back in the city and jumped off. As soon as my feet hit the ground, I bent down and picked up some of the ash on the ground.  
"Soot," I said darkly.  
Falcon was confused, as well as he should be. He would never have seen this before….  
"What?" he asked.  
"I've seen it before. Right before my village was attacked. It's soot mixed with snow."  
I stood.  
He was still lost. "But why?"  
I turned to him grimly. "It's the Fire Nation. They've closed in on the North Pole. And from the looks of the stuff…"  
I turned and looked over the ocean horizon, which was darkened by a dense grey cloud.  
"...I'd say there's a lot of them."

Ren:

"This will truly be one for the history books, General Ira," Drake said.  
They were on the bridge of Drake's flagship, with me standing in my guard's disguise by the wall once again.  
"Just think, centuries from now, people will study the great Admiral Drake who destroyed the last of the Water Tribe civilization. You're lucky you're here to see it," he rambled, and I rolled my eyes from under my mask.  
Uncle was not pleased with this. "Be careful what you wish for, Admiral. History is not always kind to its subjects."  
Drake shrugged. "I suppose you speak from experience? But rest assured, this will be nothing like your legendary failure at Eralith."  
Uncle rolled his eyes and I smirked. "I hope not, for your sake."  
"Tell the Captains to prepare for first strike."  
Uncle turned and walked away. I followed him and took a roundabout way to meet up with him in our usual hallway.  
"We'll be landing soon. Do you have a plan?" he whispered to me.  
I removed my mask. "I'm working on it, Uncle."  
I replaced my mask and we split up before anyone could catch us.

Alana:

Water Tribe warriors ran about everywhere. Two Water Tribe men struck a gong with alternating strokes on top of one of the city's buildings. The gong had symbols representing both the moon and the ocean on it. Many city dwellers were running up the steps of the citadel, including Master Sorren and I with Falcon in tow.  
The Prince stopped suddenly, grabbing my hand and bringing me to a halt along with him.  
"What's wrong?" I pointed up to the citadel. "We have to go!"  
Falcon released his grip on my hand. "No, Alana, wait. I can't see you anymore. Not at all."  
My gut clenching, I turned in surprise. "What? We're just friends."  
"I wish we could just be friends, but I like you too much and it's too confusing to be around you. I'm marrying someone else," he said.  
I could tell this upset him…a lot. "You don't love her, do you? You don't even seem to like her."  
Falcon sighed. "But I do love my people."  
I sighed in exasperating. "You're not marrying them."  
"You don't understand. I have duties to my father, to my tribe. I have to do this, goodbye!" he said, his face pained as he continued running up the steps.  
I looked distraught at Falcon's sudden departure and then looked up to the sky in disbelief.  
"For the love of God!"  
I continued up the steps and ran inside.  
Chief Hale was beginning a speech to a group of Water Tribe warriors. His voice echoed through the great hall as he spoke. Behind him sat Prince Falcon and Master Sorren. On the floor, their backs to a nearby wall, sat Odette and Kole and I went over to them silently.  
"The day we have feared for so long has arrived. The Fire Nation is on our doorstep. It is with great sadness I call my family here before me, knowing well that some of these faces are about to vanish from our tribe. But they will never vanish from our hearts. Now, as we approach the battle for our existence," he raised his arms up to the heavens in supplication. "I call upon the great spirits! Spirit of the Ocean! Spirit of the Moon! Be with us!" He lowered his arms and continued his address. "I'm going to need volunteers for a dangerous mission."  
I immediately stood up. "Count me in."  
Kole glared at me. "Alana!"  
Many other men and woman stood up in the crowd with me.  
"Be warned. Many of you will not return. Come forward to receive my mark if you accept the task," the Chief said, his face grim.  
We formed a line in front of the Chief to receive our marks. It was three red lines on the forehead, made from some paint or ink that the Chief held in a bowl in front of him. I was the second in line. As I left, I turned and made eye contact with Falcon before I turned again and walked away, hoping I would live to see him again.

Odette:

I sat on one of the pylons at the top of the citadel steps. I was looking out over the city walls to the ocean horizon in the distance. Behind me, the Chief approached.  
"The stillness before battle is unbearable." As he spoke, Kole walked up behind me and snatched my hand, holding it in his tightly. "Such a quite dread."  
"I wasn't there when the Fire Nation attacked my people," I said, a fierce expression on his face. "I'm gonna make a difference this time."  
Giving Kole's hand a gentle squeeze, I let go and stood up on top of the pylon, Kole to my left and the Chief to my right.  
I took off and made for the front of the city. All looked calm and quiet on a beautiful sunny day. A solid line of Water Tribe warriors lined the top of the city wall, their faces painted for war.  
At the center of the line, I sat atop of Emrys, ready for battle. Kole and Alana stood next to my left. We all looked out to sea with expressions of fierce determination. In the distance a single ship was seen. It launched a fireball which hurtled directly at the center of the city wall. It struck the water symbol in the center of wall and blew a massive hole through it. Many defenders were blown backwards into the city by the concussion, along with huge chunks of ice and debris.  
Another fireball flew through the air towards the city. It landed in a canal with an explosion of smoke, water and fire. The Fire Nation crew launched another fireball from the trebuchet on the approaching ship's foredeck. It struck the right side of the city wall, shattering a piece of it. Emrys recoiled and roared as the smoke and exploding ice created havoc around her.  
"Yip! Yip!" I shouted about the noise.  
Emrys bellowed and we launched off the wall towards the Fire Navy ship while the defenders on the wall tried to reorganize.  
As we flew, Emrys let out another enraged roar in the sky. As we approached the Fire Navy ship it fired a few more fireballs at us. The last I bated out of the way with my staff. The blow changed the trajectory of the fireball and it went wild, harmlessly striking the ice cliff way to the left of the city.  
"I'll take it from here, boy!" I told her, wanting her out of the way.  
Emrys began to invert herself, allowing me to just fall of the saddle into a free fall. Emrys flew away as I continued my drop. After a few seconds I opened my glider and closed in on the ship. Dodging several more fireballs I arrived on the foredeck, breaking the rest of my fall by using my staff as a helicopter blade. Once I landed, I whipped up a gale that blew much of the deck crew off to the sides. I then hopped up onto the arm of the loaded trebuchet and began to walk down it. A huge Fire Nation soldier blocked my way, however, and I was forced back up the arm. Two more soldiers had climbed the trebuchet and appeared behind me. They all swung mighty hammers at me and missed, damaging the trebuchet. Finally, I jetted into the air and with a mighty blow blasted the trebuchet into a dozen pieces.  
I ran over to the other trebuchet on the deck. I broke the chain the stopped the trebuchet arm from overextending and then fired the trebuchet. The arm overextended and the weapon shot its fireball into the deck, straight through the forepeak and into the water below. I ran back up the deck to two more trebuchets, Fire Nation guards in tow. I tied the chains of two trebuchets together in a bow knot. I then ran over to one of the machines firing mechanisms and kicked it into operation. The activated trebuchet drew the one it was tied to across the deck towards itself. When the one struck the other they disintegrated into a pile of useless junk.  
I grinned widely as I ran over to another trebuchet. I was about to strike the firing mechanism with a hammer when I saw a huge Fire Nation warrior approach. I dropped the hammer in fear, narrowly avoiding multiple hammers attached to chains that attempted to strike me. Hiding behind one of the trebuchet's girders, I was quickly ensnared by two chains which rapped around me.  
Emrys's clawed feet suddenly swooped down, breaking the chain and sweeping the warrior out of the way in her jaws. I freed myself from my now loose chains.  
"Emrys!" I cried in relief.  
Emrys peered over the side of a ship and ejected the chain warrior overboard with a grunt. I ran over and jumpped onto Emrys's forehead, bear hugging her.  
"Thanks for the rescue, buddy!"  
Suddenly the ship started to vibrate violently. A huge spear of ice broke through the foredeck straight into the sky. I looked over at the port side hull which was now encased in rapidly expanding ice. The Fire Navy ship had been surrounded by Water Tribe skiffs full of waterbenders. Together they bended the Fire Navy ship out of the water on a bed of ice.  
Emrys and I took off the now heavily listing deck. As we rose above the now wrecked ship, my expression turned to on of horror and surprise as I looked in front of me. The horizon was full of Fire Navy ships as far as the eye could see.  
"You have got to be kidding me," I breathed hopelessly.

Alana:

Chief Hale once again addressed a group of soldiers, me among them.  
"Men, you'll be infiltrating the Fire Nation navy. That means you'll all need one of these uniforms…" he said.  
An arrogant looking, dark haired young woman dressed from the waist down wearing what appeared to be a Fire Navy uniform walked out. The uniform she wore, while clearly of the Fire Nation, was not current standard issue. In particular, the shoulder armor had wings that curved upward.  
I burst out laughing at this and put my hand over my mouth. The other warriors turned to look at me in surprise.  
"What's your problem?" the woman growled at me, her eyes narrowed like a cat's.  
I pointed at her. "Fire Navy uniforms don't look like that."  
The woman snorted. "Of course they do. These are real uniforms captured from actual Fire Navy soldiers."  
I crossed my arms and quirked an eyebrow sarcastically. "When, like a hundred years ago?"  
Chief Hale looked awkwardly to the side. "Eighty five."  
I shook my head and walked forward. "The Fire Nation doesn't wear shoulder spikes anymore. The newer uniforms are more streamlined."  
I bent the tip of one of the shoulder spikes back with the tip of my finger and let go. It bounced back to its original shape.  
The woman turned to Hale in annoyance. "How do we know we can trust this girl?" She then turned to me, leaning into me with a threatening expression. "Such bold talk for a new recruit."  
Chief Hale glared at her. "Alana is from our sister tribe, she is a capable warrior and I value her input."  
I looked smugly at the woman, who was none too pleased.  
Chief Hale turned back to the rest of the room. "Now, our first objective is to determine the identity of their commanding officer."  
"His name is Drake. Middle-aged. Big sideburns. Bigger temper," I said bordly.  
Hale gestured to the woman. "Alana, I want you to tell everything you know to Jez, she is leading this mission. Jez, show Alana your respect. I expect nothing less from my future daughter-in-law."  
Hale left as Jez pushed her hair back over her ears. My jaw had dropped in shock at the Chief's last pronouncement. I recovered and pointed an accusing finger at Jez, jealousy burning through me.  
"Prince Falcon's marrying you?"  
"Yeh, what of it?"  
I turned away, hiding my expression. "Nothing, congratulations."

Odette:

By late afternoon, I was exhausted. I watched as the advancing ranks of Fire Navy ships fired volleys of fireballs towards the city. Some landed inside the city and some hit the outer wall.  
Master Sorren could be heard shouting orders. "Stop those fireballs!"  
As a fireball bore down on them, they collectively raised up a barrier of water and froze as the fireball impacted and was extinguished.  
Just as quickly as their assult started, everything stopped. The Navy ships dropped anchors for the night, the fleet parked outside the Water City's main wall. Drake's ship was in the second line of ships and looked double the size of the others.  
I breathed in relief and flew back, resting my head on Emrys scaly warm neck.  
Kole and Falcon were standing in front of the citadel, looking out over the city and its walls to the line of threatening Fire Navy ships. Plumes of smoke rose over several sections of the city that had been bombed.  
Emrys swooped down, flying closer to them.  
Kole pointed at us. "Odette!"  
Emrys landed on the plaza at the base of the Citadel steps. Falcon and Kole ran down to us as we landed. The dragon lied down on her belly, her feet too tired to keep her up. I felt small and dejected in the saddle and slide off and came to rest next to Emrys's left foot.  
"I can't do it," I moaned, putting my hands to my head. "I can't do it."  
Kole frowned, worried as he came over and wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "What happened?'  
"I must have taken out a dozen Fire Navy ships, but there's just too many of them. I can't fight them all," I said, distressed.  
Prince Falcon looked at me desperately. "But, you have to! You're the Avatar!"  
I sighed. "I'm just one person."  
I buried my head in my arms in despair as Kole tried to comfort me.

Ren:

Now out of uniform and entirely dressed in plain grey clothes, I prepared a canoe to be lowered into the water. Behind me a door opened to reveal Uncle entering. He shut the door quickly behind him.  
"If you're fishing for an octopus, my nephew, you need a tightly woven net or he will squeeze through the tiniest hole and escape," he said.  
I sighed, feeling uptight and anxious as I though about the upcoming events. "I don't need your wisdom right now, Uncle."  
"I'm sorry, I just nag you because, well, ever since I lost my son…"  
He looked away, pain evident on his face and in his voice. I felt my chest tighten painfully as I though of my dead cousin.  
"Uncle, you don't have to say it," I said, knowing he hurt enough every day.  
Uncle took a deep breath and finished anyway. "I think of you as my own."  
Warmth spread throughout me at this. After everything that I had gone through, Uncle had been the only one who'd never strayed from my side for even a moment. He had saved me, he'd helped me, he'd taught me, he'd been a father of sorts. I turned to him, a genuine look of concern and understanding on my face.  
"I know, Uncle." I bowed and saluted him with my arm over my chest. "We'll meet again…"  
Uncle rushed forward and gave me a bear hug.  
A little uncomfortable, I released my uncle and walked over to the canoe. "...after I have the Avatar."  
I got into the canoe and began to lower it to the water.  
"Remember your Breathe of Fire! It could save your life out there!" he warned me hurridly.  
I rolled my eyes. "I will."  
"And put your hood up, keep your ears warm!"  
"I'll be fine," I said, a little annoyed.  
Uncle looked on, worried, as he watched me depart.  
I nodded at him and then turned to face city and the line of Fire Navy ships that stood between me and my goal.

Alana:

I held my hands steady as I sharpened an axe blade on a rotating wheel. I was so angry that I applied too much pressure to the blade, causing speaks to fly off the blade everywhere. That repulsive, snotty Jez was performing the same task beside me. No sparks flew from Jez's blade as she remained calm and controled.  
She turned to me, mispronouncing my name. "Let me tell ya, Elena, I've been courted by a lot of guys, but Falcon is the finest – and he comes with the most perks."  
My eyes bulged in anger. "Perks!? What does that mean?"  
Jez shrugged. "I mean, Falcon's nice and everything, but the points I'll get with the Chief aren't bad either."  
"Prince Falcon is wasted on a self absorbed weasel like you!" I snarled, disgusted.  
Jez was surprised at my outburst. "Whoa. Hang on. What do you care? You're just a simple rube from the Southern Tribe. What would you know of the political complexities of our life? No offense."  
That's it!  
I yelled in anger and tackled Jez to the ground. I ended up on top and punched Jez in the face.  
"You're just a jerk without a soul! No offense!" I hissed.  
We rolled around a bit more before Chief Hale's hands appeared to break us up.  
"That's enough! Alana, you're off the mission," he said, angry.  
I gapped.  
The Chief exited again as I looked away, humiliated.  
Jez turned to the assembled soldiers. "All right, fall in guys! Everybody listen to what I say and we'll take out this Admiral Drew in no time."  
"It's Admiral Drake!" I yelled to the backs of Jez and the departing soldiers.  
Idiot.

Ren:

As the day turned to night, I navigated my canoe through the ice flows near the City. I was wrapped up in my grey garb and grateful to because it was so cold. Nearby, turtle seals could be heard, making noise. I floated silently near the damaged city wall, unseen by the sentries patrolling atop the damaged barrier. I beached the craft on the ice near the wall and spied several turtle seals disappearing into a hole in the ice.  
I narrowed my eyes curiously. "Where are they going? They're coming up for air somewhere…"  
I took off my veil, took a deep breath and plunged into the icy water, nearly gasping from the shock of the freezing water.

Kole:

"The legends say the moon was the first waterbender," Falcon said.  
Odette, Falcon, and I were looking at the moon over the city from a room in the citadel. Odette's held her head low, still depressed from what had happened earlier.  
"Our ancestors saw how it pushed and pulled the tides and learned how to do it themselves."  
I nodded. "I've always noticed my waterbending is stronger at night."  
Prince Falcon smiled. "Our strength comes from the Spirit of the Moon, our life comes from the Spirit of the Ocean. They work together to keep balance."  
Odette's grey eyes suddenly opened wide as she got an idea. "The Spirits! Maybe I can find them and get their help!"  
Falcon frowned in confusion. "How can you do that?"  
"The Avatar is the bridge between our world and the Spirit World. Odette can talk to them!" I explained.  
Falcon smiled hopefully. "Maybe they'll give you the wisdom to win this battle!"  
Odette spread her arms wide. "Or, maybe they'll unleash a crazy amazing spirit attack on the Fire Nation!"  
Falcon and I regarded her steadily - I knew she would feel horrible if she took that many lives. Odette put her arms behind her back and smiled.  
"Or wisdom. That's good too."  
"The only problem is, last time you got to the Spirit World by accident. How are you going to get there this time?" I asked her.  
Falcon thought for a moment before he smiled. "I have an idea, follow me."  
We followed him through the silent city to a courtyard behind the citadel. He stopped in front of a wooden half height door.  
"So is this the way to the Spirit World?" Odette asked, looking at him like he was crazy.  
Falcon laughed. "No, you'll have to get there on your own." He opened the door. "But I can take you to the most spiritual place in the entire North Pole."  
Odette entered as Fang ran around our feet.  
Inside there was a long pool of water. At the back of the chamber was a waterfall coming from the glacier way above. On the sides of the pool were two ledges by which one could access the landing at the back of the chamber. The landing was filled with green foliage, another smaller pool that looked almost tropical in nature, and a small T shaped gate like structure very much akin to a paifang or perhaps a torii. The landing was connected to the ledges on the side of the chamber by two wooden foot bridges.  
Odette's face was filled with wonder at the natural beauty before her.  
She ran over the left bridge, laughing, and landed on the soft grass in front of the little pond. She rubbed it fondly.  
"I never thought I'd miss grass this much!" she sighed.  
She flopped over on her back as Falcon and I walked onto the landing ourselves.  
I smiled, starting to sweat as the temperature suddenly changed.  
"It's so warm here! How is that possible?" I asked as I took off my overcoat.  
"It's the center of all spiritual energy in our land," the Prince replied to me, taking his coat off as well.  
In the pond, I spotted two fish circling each other in a timeless motion. One was white, the other black. Fang skittered up to the pond and began to try and grab the fish. Falcon and I looked severely at him and he decided to run away.  
"You're right, Falcon. I can feel...something...it's so...tranquil," Odette said.  
She sat cross legged in front of the pond and closed her eyes. She made two fists and put her knuckles together in an attempt to meditate.

Ren:

I finally broke the surface of a hole, out of breath and frozen. I flopped onto the ice floor of the cave, my breath making clouds of water vapor in front of me. I flipped over, shivered violently, and blew fire into my hands to warm myself up. After a moment, the heat spread throughout my body and I regained feeling in my limbs. Tiredly, I got up.  
I turned to the noisy turtles sharply and snapped. "Be quiet!"  
They stopped barking as I walked by, but began once I passed.  
Ugh, your lucky I don't have time for dinner, I thought darkly as I continued moving.  
I approached a waterfall at the back of the cave and entered the tunnel where the water was coming out.

Alana:

I sat alone, sharpening my boomerang in the same armory I'd had the fight with Jez. Hale came up behind me and I prepared for a lecture.  
"Is something wrong, Alana?" he asked.  
I snorted. "Oh no! Jez's out there on the top secret mission while I'm here sharpening my boomerang. Everything's fine!"  
Chief Hale sighed. "Listen to me. I took you off the mission for selfish reasons. I have a special task in mind for you."  
I turned to the Chief in anger. "What? You want me to scrub the barracks?"  
"I want you to guard my son, Prince Falcon."  
I got up, an look of innocence mingled with desire on my face. "Er, sure. That shouldn't be too hard."  
Hale left and I grinned triumphantly to myself.

Ren:

I forced myself up the tunnel, knowing I wouldn't be able to hold my breath for long. I slipped once, but kept on moving. Finally I exited the tunnel into the bottom of a large pool of water. I swam up and broke the surface, gasping for air. The top of the chamber was inches above my head.  
I regained my breathe, then looked just underneath the water line to scan for exits. I saw one, dove and entered another tunnel. Going around one bend and then up revealed what looks like an exit into open air, but when I reached it, it proved to be just thinner, lighter colored ice. Running out of breath, I concentrated and superheated my hands to red hot and placed them on the thin ice.  
I burned through it and emerged into an ice tunnel within the Water Tribe City. Relived, I laid down for a moment to regain my strength.

Kole:

Odette was still in her meditation pose beside the pool, Falcon and I behind her.  
"Why is she sitting like that?" Falcon leaned over to me and tried to whisper.  
"She's meditating – trying to cross over into the Spirit World. It takes all her concentration," I whispered back.  
"Is there any way we can help?" he asked, curious.  
"How 'bout some quiet!?" Odette yelled, turning to look at us and I put a hand over my mouth. "C'mon guys! I can hear every word you're saying!"  
She sighed and resumed her pose. She watched as the black and white fish circled each other in front of her. Suddenly, Odette's eyes and head arrow glowed white.  
"Is she okay?" Falcon asked, worried.  
I nodded calmly. "She's crossing into the Spirit World. She'll be fine as long as we don't move her body. That's her way back to the physical world."  
Falcon began to walk away. "Maybe we should get some help?"  
"No, she's my friend. I'm perfectly capable of protecting her," I reassured him.  
"Well, aren't you a big girl now?" a familiar voice said and I froze, my skin prickling in alarm.  
I turned to the voice in dismay. "No!"

Ren:

I walked over the footbridge towards them.  
"Yes!" I sneered at the peasant water tribe boy. "Hand her over, and I won't have to hurt you."  
Kole assumed a waterbending stance, while some guy with white hair ran off in the background.  
Coward.  
Odette, oblivious, was still in her Avatar State in front of the pond, her thick long hair ruffling slightly around her, caressing her face. I smiled at that beautiful face greedily.  
I launched forward, firing several blasts of fire. Kole blocked all three with water from the pond. He fired several more as I advanced, but on the last one he used enough water to not only douse my fire, but hurl me backward and lay me flat on the ground.  
I got up, barely fazed. "I see you've learned a new trick. But I didn't come this far to lose to you."  
I fired another blast which he blocked. Kole then launched another stream of water at me, hurling me backwards again. I barely retained my balance, but Kole froze the water beneath me. My feet were frozen in the ice. Then, with a massive output of effort, Kole raised a churning sphere of water from the main pool behind me, encased me in it, and froze me entirely.  
Through the ice, I glared at Kole's face – satisfaction written all over it.  
"You little peasant. You've found a master, haven't you?" I growled, my voice muffled by the ice.  
As I ended my comment, the ground began to shake and the ice began to glow yellow and orange as I heated it up. With an explosion of fire, the shell of ice shattered, releasing me and I promptly charged Kole. We traded shots which all missed.  
I got behind Kole and almost grabbed Odette's collar, but Kole blasted me out of the way with a jet of water and I got blown over to the right ledge. While I tried to recover, Kole raised a huge wave of water that raised me to ten or more feet up the wall and froze me in place once again.  
My head drooped in defeat as exhaustion took over me. As the sunlight reached me, though, I was filled with strength and such an intense feeling of pure determination I felt renewed. My head snapped up with a look of determination and I breathed steam, melting the ice holding me in place. I slid down and charged Kole again.  
I fired a huge blast of fire. Kole, caught off guard while he was walking back to Odette, blocked it only partially. He was thrown back into the post of the paifang gate and was knocked out. I grabbed Odette, careful not to disturb her, and looked over Kole.  
"You rise with the moon. I rise with the sun," I sneered at his unconscious form.

Kole:

I emerged from my involuntary nap with a throbbing head.  
Odette!  
My eyes opened suddenly and I got to my knees with a start.  
Odette and Ren were gone. Fang was running around, barking in panic.  
"Odette!" I shouted, fear hammering through me as I looked around desperately.  
If he hurt her in any way, shape, or form I would end him. And I would not be nice about it. I would tie him down and make him suffer until he begged for death if he hurt my girl.  
Emrys landed suddenly, Alana and Falcon in the saddle. They moved to hop down.  
Alana ran over to me worridly. "What happened? Where's Ren?"  
"He took Odette. He took her right out from under me," I said sadly, kicking myself for not being more alert.  
"Where did they go?" Alana asked, worry thick in her voice

Ren:

I trudged along the massive glacier above the sanctuary. Up here it was snowing hard.  
I struggled through the storm, carrying Odette safely on my back - whose marking were still glowing white with her unconciousnes.


	21. Chapter 2o: The Siege of the North, 2

Kole:

Four massive fireballs arced over the Water City walls and into the city. It was daylight and the battle for the survival of the Northern Water Tribe had begun in earnest. Even though we were still in the sanctuary, you could still see and hear everything.  
I kneeled at the pool in the very place where my Odette had been, devastated.  
"I can't believe I lost her," I murmured, my eyes burning.  
"You did everything you could and now we need to do everything we can to get her back," Alana said comfortingly.  
Alana led Falcon over to Emrys and I turned to look at my sister, tears brimming over my eyes.  
"Ren can't have gotten far. We'll find him. Odette's gonna be fine," she said sternly.  
I sighed and got up, knowing that I was being less than helpful right now. "Okay."  
I walked by Fang, who looked out over the pond. He chittered softly and sadly. Now standing atop Emrys - Alana at the reigns, Falcon beside her - I turned to look at the little wolf.  
"It's all right. You stay here, Fang, in case Odette comes back," I said, mostly trying to reassure myself.  
"Yip! Yip!" Alana said.  
Emrys launched herself into the air and out of the sanctuary into the frozen, snowing wasteland above. She flew over the ice dunes, the snow coming down hard from the dark, gray sky above.

Ren:

I tramped through the drifting snow, Odette's feet dragging behind me. My muscles were aching and I was exhausted after dragging her through the blizzard. Odette's eyes were still closed, but her tattoo arrow on her head glowed white. She was basically a deadweight right now and it was not helping me at all.  
Far away in the distance, a mere whisper of a sound, I heard the familiar roar of a dragon.  
I was running out of time…

Odette:

I was sitting cross legged on a platform in the middle of a bamboo swamp. A white bird flew by in an instant. I got up and ran off the platform, looking around the swamp. Behind me was a small island. A temple like structure, like the one behind the pond in the Water Tribe sanctuary, but thicker and cruder, rested on top of the island. Underneath the cross bar of the structure, a figure sat cross-legged.  
I could hear it chanting from where I was. "Ohmm... Ohmmmm…"  
Curious, I ran up the island to the see a white haired monkey sitting in meditative repose. He wore a brown monk's shawl.  
"Hello? I'm sorry to disturb you, but I just really need to find the Moon and the Ocean spirits," I said.  
The monkey spoke without opening his eyes. "Go... Away."  
He paused for a moment, then opened one eye at me.  
"You're still here?" he asked in disbelief.  
I put my hands on my hips in annoyance. "Yes! I need –"  
The monkey shut his eyes tightly. "Ohmm! Ohmmm!"  
Suddenly, a blue will-o'-the-wisp entered from the right, emitting a slight crystalline noise.  
"Perhaps that thing will help you? Chase it!" the unhelpful spirit said.  
I chased the will-o'-the-wisp through the swamp and up a tree and out onto a large branch. I caught it, a huge smile on my face. As I did, the tree branch liquefied underneath me and I fell, screaming, to the water below and landed with a splash. As I lied in the water the will-o'-the-wisp got away from me.  
"Come back!" I cried, getting up.  
I moved to follow the will-o'-the-wisp, but stopped to look at the water. As the ripples from the splash dissipated, an image formed where my own reflection should have been.  
"Hello, Odette."  
I gasped and smiled. "Koren!"

Ren:

I continued carrying Odette through the snow. After some steps, the ice underneath me began to crack and cave in. Within a few seconds most of the ground around me was collapsing. I began to run with Odette on my back as fast as I could. I managed to keep just ahead of the yawning hole that my footsteps over thin ice had caused to appear.  
The hole finally stopped expanding as I tripped and fell, landing face first in the snow and sending Odette rolling through it roughly.  
I winced and scrambled to my feet. She had rolled over onto her side, her hair covering her face. I rolled her over and brushed her hair aside to make sure she was okay. Her eyes were still closed, in a peacefull state, her tattoos still aglow.  
"Sorry," I grunted as I hoisted her up onto my back again.  
We were now on the lip of a newly formed canyon. I looked ahead to see a rock ledge overhanging a small cave.  
"Shelter!" I said in relief.  
Huffing, I dragged Odette inside as the blizzard continued. I dumped her at the back of the cave and tied her hands behind her back with some of the rope I was carrying.

Odette:

I looked down at the reflection in the water of the Spirit World swamp.  
"Koren, the Water Tribe is under attack. I need to find the Ocean and Moon spirits!" I said hurriedly.  
Suddenly, maroon colored water fountained up and solidified into the shape of Avatar Koren.  
"The Ocean and the Moon are ancient spirits. They crossed over from the Spirit World to the Mortal World very near the beginning. There is only one spirit I know of who is old enough to remember,"  
"Who?" I asked.  
"The spirit's name is Koh. But he is very dangerous. They call him... the Face Stealer," he said.  
Shocked and frightened, I gulped.  
"When you speak with him you must be very careful to show no emotion at all – not the slightest expression or he will steal your face," he warned.  
Knowing there was no way to avoid this spirit, I breathed and forced the fear from my face and nodded to Koren stoically.

Ren:

I looked out at the frozen wastes where the blizzard raged. Freezing cold, I blew fire into my hands to keep warm. I looked over at Odette, hoping she would stay warm as well.  
I sighed as I looked at her.  
"I finally have you. But I can't get you home because of this blizzard." I walked over to the cave entrance to look out at the falling snow. "There's always something. Not that you would understand. You're like my sister. Everything always...came easy to her. She's a firebending prodigy – and everyone adores her."  
I felt my thoughts darken as I thought of my perfect sister, Athera, who had been held up on a pedestal since birth.  
"My father says she was born lucky. He says I was lucky to be born. I don't need luck though, I don't want it. I've always had to struggle and fight and that's made me strong. It's made me who I am."  
I don't know why I was saying these things, talking to her when we was completely unconscious. It was strange, but for some reason, I felt like I might have even said those things anyways if she had been awake.

Odette:

I hopped across the top of a line of wooden pylons on my way to a huge gnarled tree. The tree was partially silhouetted by a light source behind it that was too dim to be the sun, but too bright to be the moon.  
I stopped as a monstrous coyote or other dog like creature passed behind the tree – it must have been the size of small mountain and could have eaten me in one gulp. Hesitant, I continued toward the base of the tree. There was a dark hole at the base and I approached it fearfully. My heart practically leaped out of my chest and I stopped short in fright as a monkey's screech sounded just beside me. It was sitting on the root of the tree, looking away from me  
"Oh! Whew! You're just a curly tailed blue nose," I said in relief.  
The monkey turned around to reveal that it has no face. I started again in fright, then dropped all emotion from my face and breathed deeply.  
"Show no fear. Show no emotion at all," I murmured, repeating Koren's words from earlier.  
I walked into the hole, fear hammering through me as I descended the staircase into Koh's lair. The lair opening had light pouring in through it. The lair was dark, though not the pitch black at the entrance. Roots stuck out from the ceiling, but no creature stirred.  
"Hello? I'm looking for a spirit named, Koh," I called, my voice echoing hauntingly through the chamber.  
As I said the spirit's name, something began to move. I looked around, sensing movement, but saw nothing.  
A moment later a white face appeared right in front of me, with grey patches around its eyes and luscious, blood red lips. The face was vaguely clown like. I stared up at the lips, which smiled. Successfully, my face remained emotionless.  
I was prepared.  
Suddenly, a huge cockroach like body arcs around Odette and appears in front of his face. The white, clown like face of Koh was inches away from me. Around the spirit's face were eight legs that were attached to a black centipede like body.  
"Welcome!" he said.  
My face remained inscrutable.  
The monster hung from the ceiling in front of me, and I bowed with my hands clasped in front of me in a gesture of honor.  
"Thank you," I said.  
Koh wheeled around me to look at me from the back. His voice was low, melodic, almost purring. His voice oozed danger and made my skin crawl.  
"My old friend, the Avatar. It's been a long time," he said.  
"You know me?"  
"How could I forget…you!" At this moment he whirled to face me and his face had changed from the clown mask to a middle-aged mustached man. "One of your previous incarnations tried to slay me! It was eight or nine hundred years ago."  
"I didn't know that. Why did he... or I... try to kill you?" I asked.  
"Oh…" his face changed to that of a beautiful, flowing haired young woman. "It was something about stealing the face of someone you loved…"  
The face changed to the curly tailed blue nose face as Koh began to laugh cruelly.  
"Of course, that's all behind us. Why should I hold a grudge against you for something in a past life? After all, you're a different person now," he said, sticking his fanged, monkey face up to my ear from behind me. "You've come to me... with a new face. And a very beautiful one at that."  
Fear slithered down my spine and I closed my eyes and breathed.  
I stood on the stairs as Koh wrapped his body loosely around me.  
"It's been a long time since I've added a girl's face to my collection." His face was now that of an owl. "So... how may I help you?"  
During the conversation Koh continued to wrap around me, making endless circles.  
"I need to find the Moon and the Ocean," I said.  
"Their spirit names were Tui and La. Push... and Pull... and that has been the nature of their relationship for all time," he said.  
"Please, help me find them. An entire culture could be destroyed if I don't get their help," I said, trying to keep the stress of my face. The more time I wasted here, the more the Water Tribe disappeared.  
"Oh, you think you need their help? Actually, it's quite the other way around," he said.  
In an instant, Koh turned and bolted to me, pressing his face within inches of mine. Koh's face had changed again from the owl to a blue ogre like face with red eyes and huge fangs.  
"Someone's going to kill them!"  
I closed my eyes briefly, then opened them to look at Koh.  
"What do you mean? How can I find them and protect them?" I asked.  
Koh flipped back to his white face. "You've already met them, actually."  
Koh reared his self up, so I had to look up to see his face.  
"Tui and La, your Moon and Ocean, have always circled each other in an eternal dance. They balance each other... push and pull... life and death... good and evil... yin... and yang."  
My eyes opened wide as I remembered the white and black fish circling each other in the pond and the vision I got of them turning into the yin and yang symbol just before I'd entered the Spirit World.  
"The koi fish!" I exclaimed, smiling.  
Koh, hearing the emotion in my voice, appeared instantly with his blue ogre face in front of me, ready to take my face. But no luck – my face was once again a model of impassivity.  
"I must be going now," I said.  
Koh flipped to the face of a bald young man. "We'll meet again."  
Koh receded back into the shadows and I emerged from Koh's lair. I looked down at my reflection on the ground, dizzy with relief.  
"The spirits are in trouble. I need to get back to the physical world," I said.  
Avatar Koren appeared before me.  
"A friend is here to guide you back," he said.  
Koren faded to the panda form of Hei-Bai, the forest spirit. I turned with a wide smile.  
"Hei-Bai!" I cried.  
The big bear was indeed behind me and he reared up on my hind legs. He got on all fours and I jumped onto his neck. Hei-Bai then began to take me back to where I came in.  
In no time at all, we reached the paifang where I'd entered.  
"This is where I came in," I said as I jumped onto the platform underneath the paifang. "But how do I get back?"  
In response, Hei-Bai reared up on his hind legs and breathed a pulse of blue, spiritual energy out of his mouth at me and I froze, engulfed by the energy and everything went black.  
I returned back in the Water City sanctuary.  
"Fang!" I cried.  
I walked over to Fang, sleeping on the ground. He did not stir.  
Confused, I looked at my hands. "Fang?"  
Realizing my predicament I spun in terror. "Oh no! Where's my body?"  
I looked around frantically but stopped as a blue ball of energy formed around and I was lifted or beamed by it right out of the sanctuary valley and out into a wasteland above. Like a comet I arced over the frozen landscape.  
I quickly arrived at a cave and slammed back into my body  
I woke up, wondering what I was doing in a cave…and apparently tied up. I struggled briefly against my bonds, then sat up to face Ren.  
He looked awful. Burns and scratches and bruises covered his face in random splotches and I wondered what had happened to him.  
He smiled at me and I felt my heart skip a beat.  
"Welcome back," he said, and I snapped it of it.  
"Good to be back," I replied threateningly.  
With a mighty breath, I blew Ren against the wall while simultaneously propelling myself out of the cave and into the open. I began to grunt as I moved forward, caterpillar style, along the ground. Ren came over and grabbed me by the collar and lifted me up.  
"That won't be enough to escape," he sneered.  
Just then, a familiar roar echoed through the sky with a deafening sound. I looked up just as Emrys appeared over Ren's head, snarling at him in rage.  
"Emrys!" My guardian angel had come to save me once again.  
Emrys landed and Ren dropped me in the snow. Kole dismounted her to face Ren. I was so happy to see him I could have passed out.  
Ren assumed a firebending stance. "Here for a rematch?"  
"Trust me, Ren, it's not going to be much of a match," Kole sneered back, beginning to waterbend.  
He blocked a fireball that Ren launched as he finished his sentence while Alana and Falcon looked on from Emrys's saddle. He sent a shock wave of ice hurtling towards Ren. When it reaches him, Kole encased him in a pillar of ice that he rose up high, then dropped.  
Ren fell to the ground unconscious.  
Alana ran over and cut my bonds and I flexed my arms in relief.  
"Hey! This is some quality rope!" Alana said and I rolled my eyes.  
"We need to get to the oasis! The spirits are in trouble!" I said, knowing I was running out of time.  
I got up and ran to Emrys. We all swiftly got onboard with me at the reigns. We were ready to go, but…I stopped and looked over at Ren. After everything he had done, I'd still managed to fall in love with him. He still had a hold over me. Man, I must have been dropped when I was a baby or something.  
All I knew now was that I could not leave him here. He would die, and then what? I would never forgive myself, and I would be stuck wantering around…lost.  
"Wait, we can't just leave him here," I said.  
Alana snorted. "Sure we can. Let's go."  
"No, if we leave him, he'll die," I jumped down, grabbed Ren and brought him back on to Emrys.  
"Yeh, this makes a lot of sense. Let's bring the guy who's constantly trying to kill us!" Alana growled, very unhappy.  
Emrys took off, as Ren and I got settled in the sattle. I rested his head on my lap and when I though no one was looking, I ran my fingers through his hair gently, hoping he wouldn't wake up.

Kole:

We were almost there when the usual moon became a haunting blood red one. It shedded a blood red light that washed over everything. As we flew over the city, I spotted Sorren riding his water tornado as the blood red light swept over him. As it did, his tornado collapsed. Another waterbender's water whip disintegrated as the light changed. A war rhinoceros was getting washed away, but the force driving the wave vanished as the light turned. The soldier on the war rhinoceros was once again able to advance on the waterbenders who fled in panic. A line of Fire Nation soldiers fired volley after volley in unison.  
We were losing…badly.  
As soon as the moon went red, Falcon doubled over, clutching his head in pain.  
"Ugh…" he groaned.  
"Are you okay?" Alana asked, worried.  
Falcon shook his head. "I feel faint."  
Odette put her hand on her head as well. "I feel it too." She looked up. "The Moon Spirit is in trouble."  
"I owe the Moon Spirit my life," Falcon said.  
"What do you mean?" Alana asked.  
"When I was born I was very sick and very weak. Most babies cry when they're born…but I was born as if I were asleep. My eyes closed. Our healers did everything they could. They told my mother and father I was going to die. My father pleaded with the spirits to save me...that night, beneath the full moon, he brought me to the oasis and placed me in the pond. My dark hair turned white, I opened my eyes and began to cry – and they knew I would live," he explained, leaving us in awed silence for a moment.  
"That's why my mother named me Falcon, for the moon," he finished.  
We flew swiftly to the oasis and reached it in no time. Underneath the blood moon's light basked Drake and his entourage by the pond in the oasis.  
Of course he was the one behind all this.  
"I am…" he raised his fist to the heavens, "…a legend now! The Fire Nation will for generations tell stories about the great Drake who darkened the moon! They will call me Drake the Conqueror! Drake the Moon Slayer! Drake THE INVINCIBLE!"  
At this moment Fang jumped onto Drake's head started pulling at his face and snarling viciously.  
"Huh! Get it off!" Drake yelled, furious.  
Fang jumped off as the guards surrounded Drake to help him. He landed near me just as Emrys landed and we squared off against Drake and his men.  
Drake sneered at me. "Don't bother!"  
Drake pulled out a knife or sword and held it to the bag with the Moon Spirit in it.  
No.  
I dropped my staff and raised my hands in surrender. If I had to give myself up to save the spirit I would.  
"Drake! Don't!" Odette pleaded.  
"It's my destiny... to destroy the Moon... and the Water Tribe," he snapped back.  
"Destroying the moon won't just hurt the Water Tribe. It will hurt everyone – including you. Without the moon, everything would fall out of balance. You have no idea what kind of chaos that would unleash on the world," she explained cautiously, trying to get him to see reason.  
"He is right, Drake," a familiar old voice suddenly said.  
It was Ira.  
Between Odette, Ira, and Drake, they formed a triangle around the pond.  
Drake in a bored, lecturing tone, spoke to the General. "General Ira, why am I not surprised to discover your treachery?"  
Ira lowered his hood. "I'm no traitor, Drake, the Fire Nation needs the moon too. We all depend on the balance."  
I stared at Drake who was still holding the weapon to the bag, then looked back to Ira who pointed a finger at Drake  
"Whatever you do to that spirit I'll unleash on you ten-fold!" he thundered and assumed a firebending stance. "LET IT GO, NOW!"  
Ira and Drake locked eyes for a moment, then Drake faltered, lowering the bag. He kneeled and released the fish back into the water. The red light of the moon vanished, replaced by its normal color.  
Drake's face was suddenly overtaken by a look of madness and desperation. With a cry of rage he stood and smited the water with a blast of fire. The fire blast passed Ira, who recoiled in horror. Odette's and Fang's faces were briefly illuminated by the fire. She looked up to witness the moon wink out of existence.  
Ira sprung instantly to the attack. Crossing the foot bridge, Ira fired blast after blast. Drake blocked one blast and backed away while Ira expertly dispatched Drake's four guards. Drake looked on in horror as his men were wiped out by the aging General with such ease and precision. He fled.  
Gutless coward.  
Ira stood over the guards who struggled to get up, then back to the pond where the black fish swam frantically and the white - a huge gash in its side - floated. Ira gently lifted the white fish from the water, an expression of sadness on his face. The guards were now gone.  
Falcon was on the verge of tears, and Alana rested her hands on her shoulders. "There's no hope now. It's over."  
I looked over at Odette, who's sad expression turned to determination as her eyes and tattoos glowed white. Her Avatar Spirit spoke through her mouth. Her voice turned deep and other-worldly.  
"No, it's not over."  
Odette walked forward into the pond. I moved to follow, but was stilled by a motion to halt from Ira. She stood in the middle of the pond, arms in prayer. She looked down at the black fish, whose eyes and white mark on his spine began to glow white. Odette's feet in the pond now glowed bright white. Then she dropped into the pond as if the bottom had fallen out of it and she disappears.  
"NO!" I cried, leaping to my feet but Alana steadied me.  
"Wait! Just watch…"  
The water in the pool around the oasis itself began to glow a deep blue veined with white. The glow spread from behind the citadel to encompass the entire citadel area of the city. We all looked on with wonder at the awesome power coming to life before us. A huge, incandescent blue wave rushed under the footbridge as if some huge creature were moving underneath it. Emrys - standing on the oasis - was dwarfed by the creature that rose from the pool.  
The blue, white veined creature was a huge fish like being. At its center was a blue white bubble in which we could see Odette, who spread her arms wide. A moment later, the Ocean Spirit, for this was truly he in communion with the Avatar, duplicated the motion. The Ocean Spirit towered over the citadel, it's arms still spread wide, it's blue spirit lighting the city like a beacon. The Spirit began to move down into the city.  
From where we were, we could see everything. Master Sorren and his waterbenders instantly bowed to the floor in honor of their god. Across the canal, some Fire Nation soldiers raised their spears in defiance, but were swept away by a wall of water sent by the Ocean Spirit. Odette, inside the body of the Ocean Spirit, flailed her arms about, directing the power of the Ocean Spirit against the violator's of the Moon Spirit and the Water Tribe City.  
Fire Nation tanks fired blasts of fire at the Ocean Spirit, but they were absorbed with no effect. The soldiers and tanks were washed away as if they were toys. The Ocean Spirit passed by the Water Tribe citizens who made obeisance to their lord. The Fire Nation army was in full retreat, trying desperately to escape the vengeance of a living Spirit. The Ocean Spirit reached the main canal in front of the third wall and melted into it.

Ren:

I woke up somewhere in the city. The world was dark and someone was racing towards me. I looked down and spotted Drake as he ran over a foot bridge.  
Well, well…my lucky day.  
He exited onto a parapet an was almost hit by a blast of fire I sent off that hit the wall in front of him. As the smoke cleared, Drake looked up to see me on the wall on the tier up above him.  
"You're alive?" he gasped, incredulous.  
"You tried to have me killed!" I hissed, furious.  
I launched a few fire blasts at Drake with a cry of anguish, but my target dodged, rolling along the parapet wall.  
"Yes, I did. You're the Blue Spirit – and enemy of the Fire Nation!" he said with much venom.  
I jumped down and we faced each other. Between us was the panorama of the city.  
"You freed the Avatar!" he accused.  
"I had no choice!" I yelled back.  
I continued my attack, firing volley after volley at Drake, who broke them with his hands held together in a wedge in front of him. As the blasts subsided, Drake dropped his smoking cloak to the ground.  
"You should have chosen to accept your failure – your disgrace! Then, at least you could have lived!" he screeched and returned fire.  
We traded volleys as the fight raged back and forth in the darkness. At one point I was able to exploit a moment when Drake left his chest unguarded. I blasted him and Drake fell off the parapet wall onto the tier below.

Kole:

Ira placed the dead Moon Spirit fish back into the pond. I looked at it sadly, knowing that it was over…the North Pole was done for.  
"It's too late. It's dead," I said.  
Falcon, Ira, and I mourned the passing of the Moon Spirit. Suddenly, Ira looked up at Falcon in wonder.  
"You have been touched by the Moon Spirit. Some of its life is in you!" he said.  
Prince Falcon looked up. "Yes, you're right. It gave me life. Maybe I can give it back."  
He got up and went to the pond's edge.  
Alana reached for him, panic all over her face and I felt my heart break for her. "No! You don't have to do that!"  
Prince Falcon held her hand behind him, but looked down. "It's my duty, Alana."  
"I won't let you! Your father told me to protect you!" she cried, tears in her eyes.  
Falcon looked up. "I have to do this."  
Slowly, he pried her hand from his as she started to sob. He walked to Ira, who held the dead fish in his hands. He put his palms over the Moon Spirit which began to glow. He closed his eyes for the last time, exhaled a final breath, and fell over into Alana's arms.  
"NO!" Alana screamed in despair.  
She placed her hands on his cheek and looked away as big fat alligator tears rolled down her cheeks.  
"He's gone," she said in a soft broken voice and hugged his body tightly. "He's gone."  
Not knowing what to do, I looked behind me to the Fire Navy ships as they tried desperately to flee. The bowsprits raised quickly as the ships backed out. The incandescent blue of the Ocean Spirit flowed out past the city wall in front of the Fire Navy fleet. The Ocean Spirit reformed and, towering over the fleet, reached out. He pushed two ships back out to see at amazing speed. Odette was in the bubble still making a slicing motion. The Ocean Spirit made the same slicing motion and made a razor cut through the bridge tower of Drake's flagship. The cut section slid down to the foredeck and the ship's forward trebuchet was wrecked.  
The Ocean Spirit stood over the fleet hauntingly. The Spirit raised its arms, forming a huge wave which upended many vessels and pushed the rest far out to sea.  
Relieved that the tribe was safe, I returned my attention back to the dram unfolding before me. Alana was cradling Falcon's inert form. His body glowed briefly and disappeared. The fish in Ira's hands glowed and he dropped it back into the water.  
It began to swim in the pond. The pond glowed white and as we looked on, a ghostly cloud rose from it. It coalesced into Falcon's form, but now he was dressed in white. His clothes floated around him. He addressed Alana alone, his voice now echoed and was other worldly.  
He was now the Moon Spirit.  
"Goodbye, Alana. I will always be with you," he said.  
He kissed her, their hands on each other's faces before he faded away. Everything was dark for a moment more before the moon reappeared shone brightly once again.

Ren:

Drake and I continued to battle on the foot bridge over the canal. We traded blows, but a series of direct hits from me laid the Admiral flat. As Drake tried to get up, he saw the moon - which had suddenly reappeared - over my shoulder.  
"It can't be!" he said in horror, his face wide with disbelief.  
The essence of the Ocean Spirit I'd seen him kill approached fast and coalesced around the bridge. It grabbed Drake and began to pull him off the bridge. Drake struggled and I automatically reached out for him. Okay maybe I didn't want him dead…I just wanted him crippled beyond belief.  
"Take my hand!" I said, offering it to him.  
Drake tried to reach for it for a moment, but then drew back, an expression of hate on his face. The Ocean Spirit dragged Drake under the water and disappeared.

Kole:

In the morning, I looked over the heavily damaged Water Tribe City from the citadel. Several figures surveyed the scene from below. Master Sorren was standing in front of me.  
"I've decided to go to the South Pole. Some other benders and healers want to join me," he said and turned to face me. "It's time we helped rebuild our sister tribe."  
"What about Odette?" I asked as we looked at her and Fang. "She still needs to learn waterbending."  
Master Sorren turned to me with satisfaction. "Well, then she better get used to calling you 'Master Kole.'"

Alana:

I stood with Chief Hale, looking out over the city.  
"The Spirits gave me a vision when Falcon was born. I saw... a handsome, brave young man...become the Moon Spirit." He closed his eyes as I felt my chest tighten. "I knew this day would come."  
I swallowed my own aching sadness. "You must be proud."  
He nodded. "So proud. And sad."  
We looked up to moon, still visible in the morning sky.

Ren:

I floated among the wreckage of the Fire Navy ships destroyed in the battle. Among the sunken shifts, my small raft sailed. My Uncle was next to me, relieved that I was still alive after everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours.  
"I'm surprised, Prince Ren, surprised that you are not at this moment trying to capture the Avatar," he said in amusement.  
I sighed, remembering my defeat. "I'm tired."  
No, really I was confused and frustrated. That girl just loved to play mind games with me. One minute I thought she hated me and the feeling was mutual, trust me. But then she would turn around and save my life. She could have let me die out there, but she hadn't. She'd kept me safe even though she knew I would come after her again.  
She was frustrating, infuriating, and utterly fascinating.  
Uncle put a hand on my shoulder. "Then you should rest. A man needs his rest."  
Uncle stood as I laid down, knowing he was right. I looked up into the sky, a pained look on his face as I thought of what I would do next.  
I closed my eyes tiredly, knowing mine and Odette's paths would meet again.

Odette:

I looked out over the city.  
Ren was gone and had disappeared, probably taking off somewhere with his uncle. I had to get over him. It was suicide. Being in love with that boy was going to get me killed one of these days. The thought hurt, and I rejected it. Maybe it would be better if I died…at least then I would have lived.  
Kole came up behind me. I turned and we looked at each other for a moment.  
I knew it was wrong, but maybe I could use Kole to get over my feelings for Ren, even though I knew that was going to be impossible. I had to try something.  
We came together and hugged fiercely. A barking noise was heard and Kole looked down to see Fang looking up at us.  
"You too, Fang," he said, laughing.  
We leaned down and knelled on the ground, laughing.  
"Come here," I said to him.  
Fang jumped over and snuggled up against my side. Alana came over and put an arm on my shoulder. The four of us looked over the city together.  
With a rumble, Emrys rose from below and floated patiently nearby, awaiting her comrades so we could depart as the course of events pushed us all ever onward to our destinies.

Athera:

I looked up at my father, the Fire Lord himself. He was seated on his throne…the throne that would soon be mine. He was silhouetted by the flames that wreathed his dais.  
Before him, I kneeled; cruel, vicious, black hearted, and ready for whatever he wanted me to do, for whoever he wanted me to kill. I was dressed in a Fire Nation military uniform and a cloak.  
"Ira is a traitor and your brother Ren is a failure," my father said. I looked up at my father with a twisted smile. "I have a task for you…"


End file.
